In dreams you lose your heartaches
by yami-marron
Summary: They had each other. They were never alone, they supported and helped each other. No prince was required. Yet the prince had come. And he certainly wasn't from any fairy tale. Anzu and Yugi dream of the moment they could be free of their abusive stepfather. They are about to learn they should be careful what they wish for. YY/Y AU, Cinderella-ish. (Not really)
1. Chapter 1

First of all, a few author's notes.

1\. I use Japanese and American names interchangeably for a reason, later explained within the world-building stage.

2\. I really hate Anzu, but this fic is not trying to bash her in any way. This is my way of trying to do her justice, so I'm very interested in feedback, whether my personal feelings are not affecting her portrayal.

3\. Yami is character-wise based off Yami from season 0, yet later in the fic he will use the name Atem. I always have a problem with labeling fics, since Atem and Yami are esentially the same person, so for me Blindshipping = it happens in Ancient Egypt, Puzzleshipping= it happens in modern times/ whatever. So I truly had no idea how to label it. But hey, it's Yami from season 0, so let's stick with YY/Y

. Not very graphic, but this is not fluff, just so you know.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

 _Once upon a time, there lived a girl._

 _She had a loving father who adored her and even though they both missed the girl's mother, their life was not sad. After some time, the man fell in love and married a very pretty lady. The girl was happy for her beloved father, even though her new step-sisters seemed unfriendly and mean._

 _Unfortunately, the man died soon after, leaving the girl under the care of her step-mother._

 _Since the girl was brought up to be kind and polite, she never talked back to her step-mother or her daughters, even though they made her into a servant. She complied with their wishes, hoping that one day, her life will change._

 _It became possible when the prince..._

"Anzu!" Came the shout and the girl had to stop her reading. She jumped to her feet and put the book gently aside, running out of her room to the kitchen downstairs. Mr. Arkana was there and he didn't look happy. In fact, lately he never did.

"I think I told you and your useless brother to make this silver _shine_ " he said coldly. "And yet, the first spoon I took in my hand was... disappointing. " Here, he made some kind of grimace, that was probably meant to exhibit sadness. "I don't think you deserve anything to eat, if you cannot treat your tasks seriously. Both of you. Tell that to your brother. And before you go to sleep I want this silver to _dazzl_ e. Madame Wong is coming." Anzu just nodded her head. She learned long ago that talking back was useless.

For years she thought that her sufferings could be explained only by this fairy tale-esque scenario that she was to be rescued by someone and reflect on her life as it was now as a lesson of kindness and endurance.

The kingdom she lived in consisted of many different cultures and nations, welcoming everybody within its borders. Strange names and families mingled with each other and it was no wonder that people such as Anzu's mother and father met, even though they were so different and came from different backgrounds and families. He was of 'oriental' origin, with his dark hair and intelligent smiles ;she of the kind west, with blonde hair, blue eyes and radiant smiles. They were always so in love with each other...

They moved to the north border of the kingdom, creating the mansion Anzu and her brother, Yugi, now lived in. Their father was really adamant on them embracing their oriental heritage and even though neither of his children looked the part, their names said enough. Their life passed in laughter and gold, and brilliant parties that gathered everybody from the neighborhood, rich or not, and let them enjoy life and forget their worries.

They never worried about money, because father's company was prosperous, and he always said that when money becomes your happiness, it means you are miserable.

When Anzu was ten and Yugi eight, their father went to the sea and didn't come back. When their mother received his journal and glasses they realized he was never going to. Mother cried and screamed, then she fell awfully quiet for few months. Yugi tried to cheer her up with his antics, but she hardly ever smiled. Anzu decided to take mother's place and try to run the house.

After a year their mother seemed to wake up. When spring came the light came back to her eyes and her lips started to smile. Everything was good again.

And then, at one of her wonderful parties that she started to organize again, she met Arkana. At first, Yugi and Anzu liked him very much. He was completely in love with their mother and by extension - with them. Though to giving them his time he preferred giving them gifts, he never once seemed to detest them or think of them as nuisance.

For few years they had a family again.

Mother never forgot father, and while the whole family sat by the fireplace she told them stories of his youth, the ones he told her himself and the ones she heard from his family. Arkana's face would always darken whenever she did that but Anzu and Yugi were too young to pay any attention to his mood-swings.

And then, mother died.

It was horrible. The sickness that took her almost took Yugi with her as well. For some strange reason Arkana blamed that on Yugi. In the middle of the night, while Yugi was still recovering, Anzu could hear Arkana's screaming and curses, his asking why Yugi stayed and his wife had to leave?

When Yugi came back to health Arkana they knew was long gone. He threw away all of the mansion's servants who loved the family and gathered every coin he could find in mother's room. The joy and splendor was gone.

It was like the story of Cinderella, with that small exception that there were no step-sisters, only numerous mistresses of their step-father. That, and Anzu could not remember anything about step-mother actually hitting Cinderella, beating her when she spoke out of turn, and locking her in the basement when she splashed wine on the table.

"Anzu! What are you doing?" Anzu looked up.

With a huge grin on his face, Yugi, his body covered in sweat, entered the kitchen.

Yugi, maybe because of the illness, or maybe because of the genes, was not tall. For his sixteen years he was very short, but his energy and optimism always seemed to make people look past his height. Right now, judging from the look of him and the smell, he was the appointed stable boy - Mr. Arkana, as they had to address him now so that no mistress would know who they were to him, changed his mind about Yugi's function at the mansion frequently, depending on which job at the moment seemed the most demeaning.

"I am cleaning the silver." She answered, getting back to work. The more she will do now, the less she will have to do in the evening when she was 'free'.

"But I cleaned it! Just like he told me to! I did it yesterday!" Anzu huffed at that.

"Maybe not well enough, because he told me to do it again." She replied, even to her ears sounding rough. She wasn't really angry at Yugi, but... But she was frustrated and terrified and he was still so optimistic, so.. So strong.

"Oh. Let me do it then." He said, smile disappearing from his face. All of her anger gone, Anzu put her arm around her younger brother.

"Not your fault. I think he smudged it with something on purpose." She said, trying to somehow cheer him up. Not that there was anything in that sentence that inspired any cheer.

"We should run away." He murmured.

Oh, they tried that, many times. Cinderella or not, they tried to run.

And he always found them, convincing the royal troops from the bastion nearby, that they did it to make him worry and make him give them more money. Had the guards bothered to look at the children they brought back to the man, they would see that it was certainly not the case. But even the kingdom has changed. Since the Mad Prince died and his royal troops were disbanded, the kingdom changed it policies. The borders were closed now and the new king spend all of his money gods know where, for the taxes were higher than ever. Guards, once inspired by duty, now were inspired mostly by somebody's purse.

And for the purpose of catching Anzu and Yugi, Arkana's purse was always full of inspiration.

"We should murder him." Proposed Anzu, jokingly. But Yugi started and looked at her in alarm.

"Oh, hush, I was joking" She rushed, rolling her eyes. " Don't worry. My prince will come. You will see. One royal ball and all worries will be gone." She said, this time only half-joking.

She's never met the prince, or anyone really, but... Surely, fate had to give them some sort of refund for what was happening to them right now. A prince and a crown sounded fair. Or somebody, really. It could be a shepherd boy, anyone who would take them, or at least Arkana, far from here.

"I wish it was that easy" said Yugi with a chuckle and focused his attention on the silverware in front of him. "How was your day? I spent all of mine in the stables, as you probably feel, so nothing to tell, really."

"Mine was not much better. I made breakfast, seen Mrs. Sandwine out, put his bedroom in order and made dinner. " Anzu answered, immediately checking the time. Laundry should be done soon, or else the sun will be gone.

"Well. I need to go to town for a while. I am supposed to buy something for Madame Wong. At least he doesn't give away mother's things..."

"True. One positive thing. Good job for finding it." She snapped and moved her attention to the fork in front of her.

Yugi was sure Anzu didn't mean to sound so... well, mean. He understood her feelings and couldn't find it in himself to blame her for her tone, but she should slightly change her approach, he thought.

Waiting for someone to save them was fruitless and will be fruitless. If they don't do something, they will stay as they are. Abused and neglected.

But alive. They had roof over their heads, they usually had food and people from the town, even if not helping, were not shunning them or abusing them. They had each other.

And Arkana will someday either leave or die, if Anzu for example doesn't marry first. Or, if they were clever enough, when Anzu turns twenty one they could appeal directly to the king to grant them their mansion - by the law, they were the proper heirs of their father, not Arkana. There were so many other routes they could take. There were so many things that could be worse about their predicament.

Maybe Arkana will snap out of his grief induced madness? Maybe one day he will come to his senses? Who could know?

Even the beating Yugi received the very same evening for picking the wrong colour of earrings did nothing to change Yugi's mind. There were still worse things that could happen to them. And they can and will endure, since they cannot leave.

"Hey, Anzu..." He asked the same night as his sister cleaned up his back and chest, looking for bruising." How do you feel about this house?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well... There are so many good things about it, that I love it. So many good, cheerful memories float around it. And yet there are so many memories that taint it, that I'm not sure, whether I hate it or love it more." He explained, wincing slightly when Anzu touched some particularly painful bruise.

"I've never thought much of it, you know? I want to leave it so badly that I forgot there were some better times we've had in it."She said after a while." Besides, many things changed. The wardrobe father brought from one of his journeys is gone... Remember when we decided that the pictures on it were not colorful enough?"

"Yes! And we painted it the best we could with our watercolors and came whining to mum, because they did not stick!" That was a happy memory, even though father back then looked as if he was going to die out of shock. Apparently the wardrobe was very expensive. After mother died, Arkana had it removed alongside other things from father's room, including his collection of feathers and shells.

"Or that time when we tried to surprise Donna and do her chores for her because of her birthday!" He prompted, and sure enough, Anzu also chuckled.

" She was so afraid! She thought some kind of an evil spirit was following her! And mother did not appreciate our attempt at making dinner." At that they both laughed, not loud enough to be heard in other rooms, but loud enough to feel better, to feel the togetherness and unity between them.

Cinderella was alone. They had each other. They were never alone, they supported and helped each other. No prince was required.

/

Yet the prince had come. But he certainly wasn't from any fairy tale.

It happened the next morning.

Yugi woke up early, since Arkana decided that their hens gave eggs that would not appease Mrs. Wong's tastes and wanted other kind from the market.

Yugi didn't mind. Even though the town was few miles from their home he always went there with Joey, the huntsman's son. If Yugi had a friend aside from Anzu, it was Joey.

"Early as always!" Shouted the blonde, joining Yugi on his road. "Are you bribing roosters to wake you up this early, or are you just unable to sleep like normal human being?"

'My step-father will beat me if I don't wake up on time' did not look like a good response.

"Bit of both, maybe? I mean, me and Robert the rooster are on pretty good terms, so you know." He joked, falling into step with the taller boy.

"What are you going for now?"

"Eggs."

"Eggs? You've got plenty of eggs, I know, you gave me some!" ... _And was locked up in the basement for it._

"I know it as well, imagine that. But Robert is now very protective of his children. He complained loudly and drove us mad." Joey gave him a strange look, but did not ask further.

"By the way Yugi, you are living so close to the forest and to the border... Haven't you seen anything strange lately?" Yugi immediately noticed the change of tone. Joey was worried.

"Not really. Why do you ask?"

Joey was silent for a moment.

"You see, animals keep disappearing. I guess something is eating them, but it must be either huge, or a whole pack of somethings, because there is nothing left. No fur, no trace, anything. The forest is silent. And it worries me, Yugi. Something is out there." An involuntary shiver run up Yugi's spine.

"Can we change the topic? How is your sister?"

"Oh, Serenity is great as always... I mean, for somebody who cannot see, she certainly perceives everything to be just great, a perfectly adequate reason to be happy. I'm kind of jealous of this ability" Joey snickered.

"Yeah, me too." _I could use tons of it, really._

"How is Mr. Arkana?"

"Oh... He is... well. Still trying to mend his broken heart, you know, after mom died, but he is all right, I guess." Anzu and Yugi made sure to never let Joey see anything out of ordinary about their living conditions. First of all, Arkana would make sure they regretted it, but most importantly- it was one thing to pity each other and yourself, it was much worse to see people pitying you.

"I don't know, he's taking his time. I know it is not easy, but I remember this house as it was before- I always envied you that you lived there, and I always snatched cookies for Serenity from your parties.."

"Yes, I remember that part, I defended you from Marco!" Marco was their old, strict butler. He wasn't used to children and treated them as adults- he tried to reason with them and could not understand why a child would eat sweets when its mother was not looking. He was thankfully gone before Arkana could sack him. He died of old age long before Yugi's mother's death.

"...And that's how our friendship begun!" Shouted Joey and for some reason, it improved Yugi's mood.

In the town they split their ways, both trying to get their things as quickly as possible and return to their duties. True, Yugi stalled for a moment to chat with Tristan, the local blacksmith, but not too long. After all, there was much to do and very little time.

Finally, with bags full of purchases, Yugi went back home.

The rest of the day was uneventful in comparison to what happened at night.

First, there were shouts.

They woke Anzu and Yugi up.

Shouts of many men, tramping their garden.

In fright, they run down, almost colliding with Arkana on the stairs. All of them were already downstairs when the doors gave away and men in black armors, torches in their hands, swarmed inside the house.

"Remain were you are and nothing shall happen to you!" Shouted someone, a woman, judging from the voice.

"It is my home! You have no right to be here!" Replied Arkana, fear evident in his voice. Suddenly, a knight shorter than the rest and with some gold triangle on his armor, stepped forward.

"And here you are wrong. I have every right." Said the knight and took off his helmet. For a moment Yugi thought he had lost his mind. The stranger looked exactly like him! So it was a dream, an awful dream... Yet, when he looked closely, he understood his mistake. The only thing the two of them had in common was unusual hair. The eyes, the complexion and expression- Yugi could never possess any like these.

"Who are you?!" Demanded Arkana, looking for something to arm himself. Sadly, everything was as clean as it could be and put in its rightful place.

By now their group of three was surrounded by the knights. Somebody, presumably a knight as well, switched on the light.

Suddenly, Yugi felt the gaze of the short knight moving onto him.

No wonder, since they apparently looked like long-lost twins. But then, the man's gaze left Yugi's hair and face, and focused on his neck. Suddenly self-conscious, Yugi followed the stranger's gaze with his hand. The bruises! The man's eyes were now on Anzu's wrist, which also displayed the evidence of Arcana's bad mood.

"More pressing question is, who are you. Since we have strength in numbers, it would be wise to humour me." It didn't even sound like a suggestion. The knight simply _informed_ them. There was some sinister, commanding aura around the strange knight and Arkana must've felt it too, for he answered.

"I am Arkana of house Pandora, and these are my loyal, if not skillful, servants." At that, the intruder raised his eye-brow and a faint smirk appeared on his face.

"Is that so? According to the huntsman we arrested earlier, in this house should live one Arkana Pandora with two step-kids. Was the man wrong?" The last question was directed at Anzu, who started to shake her head, apparently not feeling brave enough to speak. Not that Yugi blamed her. He wanted to shout, to ask whether Joey was all right, but his voice was not listening to him. All he could do was look in fear at what happened in his own house, and say nothing.

Arkana just gritted his teeth.

The knight looked at them again and something shifted in his gaze. Something that made Yugi even more scared. He did not know who the man was, but clearly, he wasn't the Prince Charming Anzu wished for. This man looked _evil._

"I think I want to relieve you of them. What do you say? Play a game with me. If I win, I take them. If you win, we get out of house and pay you. And, for the loser, there is yet another price to pay." Here, the man snapped his fingers and one knight held up a sack which, judging from the sound it made, contained gold.

Uncertainty on Arkana's face didn't last long.

"Wonderful. I accept." Yugi couldn't believe his ears. True, the man was horrid but... For few years, they were family! Tears started pooling in his eyes, but he was too terrified to let them out.

"You lost just now. But, for the sake of pretences..." Here, the stranger took out the sword he had on his hip. In one powerful shove, he embed it in the floor. " The game is quite simple. You have to hurt me with it. You've got two minutes. Then, it's my turn."

"Yugi..." That was Anzu. Yugi looked at her, seeing the fear he himself felt mirrored in her eyes. He didn't know what was going on. The rest of the knights stood there silently, not bothered with what their leader was doing.

Arkana stepped to the sword and started to pull the pommel as hard as he could. Yet, the sword did not move. He tried kicking it, but to no avail.

Aside from Arkana's rasping, there was silence. A faint ticking of the clock from the other room now sounded dreadful.

"Your time is up." Said the man and before Arkana could move away, the man grasped him by the neck and smashed his head on the pommel.

"AAAAAAH!" and then blood from his split forehead fell on the floor. Anzu, not caring for the knights beside her, fell to her knees.

"You lost. You lost the moment you agreed that human life can be bought or won. And for that, and for what you did to kids that were placed under your care, you shall pay." With that, the fearsome knight took out his sword out of the floor. Two knights rushed to him, holding Arkana back, so that he could not run. Yugi closed his eyes and prayed that Anzu did the same.

An awful noise of blade hitting flesh and bone, and the thud that followed was the worst thing Yugi ever heard.

"Take it outside." Said the same man, the murder, the monster that entered their house. He sounded... satisfied.

Only when the door after the other men closed, Yugi dared to open his eyes. Arkana, or rather what was left of him, was gone. Only a pool of blood and the dent in the floor stayed there to assure Yugi that what he thought had happened, was real.

"You have been avenged. Unfortunately, I cannot have witnesses. Therefore, I cannot keep you alive. And we need the house. My apologies."

 _What._

Anzu stopped crying, she just stared at the man in shock. Yugi, suddenly feeling brave, ran to her, ignoring the soldiers behind his back and put his arms around her. They came here to kill them for the _house_.

"You cannot do that!" He shouted.

The man blinked at him.

"I _cannot_?"

Wrong tactic.

"You don't have to, sir. I don't know who you are, but we can be of use. If you plan on staying in the house, we are the ones that have been keeping it. We can feed you and help you, we will cooperate, no matter what you want. Or, if you are so inclined, we can leave and forget that we ever saw you! Please!" Yugi shouted, not bothering with concealing tears that finally streamed down his face.

The man was staring at him, perplexed. _Had he offended the man? Did he just provoke the murderer? Oh, what has he done?_

"People never forgive and never forget. I cannot let you go. " At this, Yugi's heart sunk. But... At least they were still alive, and apparently, the man was ready to negotiate, at least. "As for your other proposition... What is my guarantee, that you and your lovely sister won't poison us all? Or kill us while we are here? I cannot risk the lives of my companions. " Answered the stranger, calmly.

"Trust me," he continued" I have thought it over and it is the safest way. It is nothing personal, and frankly, it saddens me that the huntsman was not wrong. Servants would not want to avenge their master, but..."

"...HE TORTURED US!" Shouted Anzu and jumped to her feet so suddenly, that Yugi fell down and looked at her from the floor. The previous blankness on her face was gone. Now pure hatred and determination shone on her face. " We are grateful to you and out of that gratefulness alone, we will stay here and help you, whatever you want to do with our house. If you truly don't wish to harm us, then don't!"

The stranger looked at the two knights beside him. Both of them seemed to communicate with him through eyes, because when he turned, he was smiling.

"My apologies again, lady. I will trust you to your word. Yet, just in case, let me remind you - the one who killed your protector was me, so any revenge should be executed on me only." And with that, the tension in the room lessened somewhat.

Anzu wiped off tears of her cheeks and pulled Yugi up.

"Prepare something to eat, I shall prepare the rooms. " She looked around" Nine people... Good thing that the mansion is big" she muttered to herself and went on her way. The soldiers, looking unsure of what to do, started to take off their helmets.

The murder of Arkana approached Yugi. " That was brave of you, to speak to me like that. Do not do it again for you shall be punished. But I appreciate the courage." He said and Yugi did everything in his power not to let it reassure him. He was not going to take any compliments from a killer and invader, no matter how civil he presented himself to be.

"Why do you look like me?" The man mused, looking at Yugi once again. Yugi returned the gaze.

"I look nothing like you, my lord." And truly, he did not. Aside from the hair, there was nothing they had in common. The man's skin was brown whereas Yugi's was white. His eyes were red, while Yugi's were purple. Yugi had soft features while the man looked like the killer he was. And he had some sort of an aura around him, that kind of aura that forced one into obedience and inspired fear and awe. Who was this man?

"If you say so." The man turned to his people. " Bring the huntsman, we are not keeping people outside. When the lady gives you your room, take off your armors and come back here. We have plenty to talk about." The knights nodded in understanding.

As if on cue, Anzu appeared at the top of the stairs." The rooms are ready. Please, choose whichever you like on the first floor. The second floor ones are not used and I don't have time to make them habitable." She explained and was welcomed with a round of thanks and gratitude.

A surprise showed on her face, but she quickly concealed it with a smile. Fake, but hospitable. When the knights and their leader were gone, Yugi went to the kitchen. He was very grateful that Anzu went after him.

"I don't want to talk about it. I want to forget it as soon as I can." She said as the greeting, and Yugi just nodded.

"Where are we going to sleep now?" He asked instead, putting the fire under the cauldron. A stew should suit the people. Psh. _Guests._ It was so surreal... Maybe it really was a dream and when Yugi wakes up the next morning, Arkana will be shouting at him to get down.

"I think... I prepared mother's room for myself and you... Since Arkana took father's, I'll have to clean it before you can take it. That's why I said the second floor is off limits. I will do something about it tomorrow. " Yugi nodded.

"Can you believe.."

"I told you, I don't want to talk about it" she cut in.

From the noise outside Yugi assumed that some knight was now bringing in Joey. And that Joey was unconscious, since he wasn't shouting or putting up a fight.

Anzu put out the cutlery and carried it to the dining room and Yugi observed how determinedly she did not look at the blood in the hallway. People upstairs were now talking amongst themselves, joking and laughing, as if killing the owner of the house they were in did not bother them. Maybe it didn't.

He started to bring food to the table, and suddenly he realized that the dawn would be in three hours. He should leave the food till breakfast. For some strange reason, the thought made him laugh.

The people stared to come down. Now that they were out of their armors they didn't look so terrifying. First down were three people with brown skin, similar to that of their leader. The tall man with black hair and tattoo across his face was talking to a very pretty lady next to him. Their third companion was shorter than them and was more remarkable than them- his sandy hair contrasted with his dark skin and he looked angry.

They entered the dining room when Yugi gestured them to it, and for a moment they looked uncomfortable. Or maybe it was just a trick of light.

Then a very pale boy with almost white hair arrived, chatting with a beautiful woman with blonde hair. When they were passing him, the woman winked at Yugi.

 _What's wrong with this people?_

 _How.. Nevermind_. They were invaders. The literally came to his house to kill him. He should thank the fates that he was still alive to judge them at all.

Then, another group of three arrived. Two tall, brown-skinned men and a very short and energetic girl who lowered her eyes while passing Yugi, as if avoiding his gaze. Maybe she felt some kind of shame.

Yugi was done bringing everything they had and was ready to leave the dining room with Anzu, when the last guest appeared.

"I thought that you will be joining us. After all, you offered to be our hosts." Said the man and before Yugi could process what was happening, both him and Anzu were already seated in front of the table and the ashamed girl from before was running to them with plates and cutlery.

That stranger was really something else.

Strangely , without his armor he looked even more awe-inspiring than before. In his plain, black shirt and trousers he could pass as a commoner, provided that no one looked at his face. On his neck Yugi has spotted a chain that was supporting a gold triangle he saw before. Now when he looked at it closely, he noticed that it was not a triangle. It was a pyramid.

Yugi's eyes widened.

Before he could react, Anzu did it for him.

"You are the Mad Prince!"


	2. Chapter 2

Few Author's notes:

1\. Thank you for comments that did not consist of cursing me for not liking fictional character.

2\. Anzu's gentle side will be more evident in this one, even though I will still claim that she is behaving according to what actually happens to her.

3\. If you spot any typos, please, let me know, because I'm blind as a bat and cannot see them, apparently.

Enjoy!

* * *

The silence that fell was deafening.

Anzu knew immediately that it was not wise to say this name in the face of the prince. But the deed was done. And now all that was left was waiting for the fall out.

And then, the prince started laughing.

Anzu looked at Yugi in fear.

Then, she looked at the rest of the knights. They looked as uncomfortable and unsure as Anzu and Yugi did.

The prince stopped laughing.

"Oh. That is precious. I thought they will come up with something more... fitting." Said the prince. In Anzu's opinion, his grin fitted the title all too well.

"Well, the Prince of Darkness seems a little too much." Mused the tall man with brown skin and brown hair, the one standing the closest to the prince. The prince just smirked and gestured everybody to go back to their seats. Without a word, everyone obeyed.

Knowing the identity of the invaders did nothing to calm Anzu. There must be a reason the man was called mad. Now when she thought about it, she didn't know it, precisely. They all heard, as did the whole kingdom, that the prince, the only son of king Aknamkanon was ruthless and violent, so his father banished him from the palace under the protection of his trusted knights, and that the prince committed suicide soon after. Considering that he was sitting now at their table listening to the conversations his knights were making, it couldn't be true. But what was he doing all these years? She heard that he died three or four years ago.

And now, he came back.

And his actions did not speak against his reputation.

Anzu turned towards her brother. Just as she suspected, he was sitting in silence, not touching his food, as if afraid of any punishment that could be executed on him if he did. She immediately took his hand into her own and gave him a gentle squeeze, forcing an encouraging smile on her face.

He gave her a little smile, but did not start to eat.

Anzu could understand why. They usually ate after their duties were done, in the privacy of the kitchen, having only each other for company. True, there was Arkana, but at least he was the evil they knew. But these people? They were terrifying and unpredictable.

Even if they seemed pretty normal at the moment.

"Well, I should take some food with me, in case our huntsman wakes up. " Said the blond woman sitting in front of Anzu. The man with brown hair nodded in agreement.

"We must refrain from harming anyone as long as it is not necessary." Said the man.

 _Oh, that's rich._

But she let her tongue speak once before and she learned her lesson. She swallowed the comment to that particular statement and turned once again towards Yugi.

"Try to eat." She whispered.

He shook his head.

 _It may be our last meal for all we know._

Anzu banished the thought from her mind. She was determined to live. She survived Arkana. True, the help that came was not what she dreamed of, but she was still alive. And she had Yugi to protect. Her lovely, kind, younger brother whose courage saved them from Mad Prince's rage. The question 'for how long' was to remain unanswered.

Anzu spent the rest if the meal in silence, eating hesitatingly, but eating.

The knights were joking among themselves now, but Anzu refused to listen in. She had to tolerate them and convince them not to kill her and Yugi, but she did not have to see them as plain guests, for they were not.

The prince was worryingly silent.

When Anzu finally dared to look at him, he wasn't looking at anyone in particular, apparently lost in his thoughts. Maybe, if his features were not marred with evil within, he might look the part of the Prince from the tale. His eyes, when they no longer held the menace and force, looked aesthetically pleasing, and his face, while devoid of the evil intent could be described as handsome.

But there was a demon hidden within.

Not wanting to be caught staring, Anzu moved her glance to the rest of the knights. They all looked young, and if they were indeed Mad Prince's troops, they were but a few.

What did they want from the house? What were they doing here?

No one was speaking to her or Yugi, and that was a small blessing. The less attention of the prince was on them, the better, but Anzu noticed that while their talk seemed to be joyous and genuine, they were not talking about their purpose at all, carefully choosing words, keeping themselves in check in case somebody said too much.

Finally, the meal was over.

"We thank you, our hospitable hosts." Said the prince, seemingly out of the blue. But Anzu noticed the small gestures the brown-haired man made before. " We need to talk for a little while and we wouldn't want to keep you awake. Rest." Even though the words were civil, the tone was not. It was commanding and the 'rest' word held a note of threat.

Anzu looked into those red eyes, so frightening when focused on her, and saw the unspoken promise of consequences they would face if they refused to go.

She stood up taking Yugi with her, and bowed.

A prince was a prince, and insulting this one could be lethal.

"Let us just take the dishes" Said Yugi, and soon both of them were out of the dining room.

When they entered the kitchen, Anzu let out the breath she was holding.

"Scary, aren't they?" She asked, forcing herself to sound joking instead of afraid.

"They haven't killed us yet, so I guess it is not that bad." Said Yugi, but he also didn't sound so sure.

They cleaned the dishes and not even trying to eavesdrop, they went to their mother's room.

When they were both lying down on mother's bed Anzu finally felt the tears pool in her eyes.

She hugged Yugi, giving into her emotions, the fear she felt when Yugi spoke to the prince, the grief, the anger, everything left her with streams of the tears running down her cheeks.

"I thought I'm going to lose you..." She whispered, at last getting in touch with her emotions. " When Arkana fell, I was so, so scared, that you will be next." She almost missed the feeling of Yugi's own tears sinking into her dress.

"I was so afraid! But we were almost free, I didn't want to die." He replied, his voice shaking and apologetic, as if he was waiting for her to reprimand him.

"You don't have to justify yourself. Oh, gods, Yugi, if it weren't for you..." She said, kissing her brother's forehead. Yes, if it wasn't for Yugi. Oh, what have they done to deserve one threat after another?

"Well, Anzu, you were very brave as well! I negotiated with the prince, you actually shouted at him!" Said Yugi, and Anzu could feel his smile. Involuntarily, her lips formed a smile of her own.

"I had to protect you somehow. I am older, remember?" She replied, and a new feeling entered her heart. It was happiness. They were still here, they were together. And Arkana was not. True, she did not know whether they will live to see the next day, but they were together. They were still together, and at least for now, out of the harm's way.

"I don't know what is waiting for us, Yugi. But we are going to make it." She said, channeling all of the determination she could muster into this one sentence. Yugi beamed at her and nodded his head.

Yes. They are going to survive.

"And now, go to sleep." She ordered. Yugi was exhausted, scared and possibly hungry, even if his body refused to admit it. He could use some sleep.

"And what about you? Aren't you going to stay with me?" He asked, obediently putting his head on the pillow.

"Not tonight. I do not trust them, not after they loudly said that they don't want any witnesses. I will keep watch outside the door. Just in case. So you can sleep safely." She said, ignoring her own need of sleep.

"All right. But in the morning, we will exchange places - you will go to sleep and I will go around house so you could rest." Yugi's tone left no room for protests, so Anzu refrained from them. She gave her brother one last fond look, and went into the corridor.

"Goodnight, Yugi."

The lack of an answer informed her, that Yugi was already asleep.

She closed the doors and came face to face with someone.

Stopping herself from screaming, she covered the door with her body.

"Sorry for startling you." Said the person, and when Anzu's eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could make out the silhouette of a girl, shorter than her. When the girl approached, Anzu recognized her, as the one with brown hair that looked so ashamed during the meal.

The girl raised her hand in placating gesture.

"What are you doing here?" Asked Anzu, trying to sound politely curious, not downright terrified. At that, the girl chuckled.

"And you?"

"I am making sure that you won't murder us in our sleep." Replied Anzu, almost immediately regretting her bluntness.

"You see, I'm here to make sure _you_ won't murder _us_ in our sleep." Replied the girl with disarming smile and Anzu let out a shocked laugh.

Soon, the girl joined her. They both sat down opposite to each other, both hugging their knees to their chests.

"My name is Mana." Said the girl, as if being on watch for two opposite sides made them friends. Maybe it did. It certainly proved that the knights were as wary of their two as they were of the knights.

"Mine is Anzu." She replied and shook the hand Mana extended to her.

"Since we are sitting here for next three hours or so, we can at least talk." Offered Mana, the smile still firmly on her face.

"I don't think we have many topics to discuss, unless you want to talk about previous happenings." Anzu said, perfectly aware that it wasn't what any of them wanted to do. And true enough, Mana's smile immediately disappeared.

For some reason, Anzu believed that the girl's sadness was genuine. She felt a sliver of guilt cross her mind.

"But we can talk about books, if you want. That's a good way to escape reality." She offered, trying to cheer the girl up.

"With pleasure" Answered Mana, a grateful smile now making its way on her lips.

/

Yugi couldn't sleep. And when he finally fell asleep his dreams were filled with screams and blood, and most importantly- Arkana.

He woke up after about two hours covered in sweat, with a firm decision to not fall asleep again. He decided to put Anzu to sleep then. Maybe at least his sister would benefit from not having to wake up with the sun.

When he opened the door he was welcomed with a sight of Anzu dozing off with her back to the wall next to the door. On the other side of the corridor, the brown-haired girl, the one that didn't meet Yugi's eyes yesterday, was sleeping soundly as well.

He kneeled next to Anzu and shook her arm gently.

"Whaat?" She yawned.

"Go to bed. I'll take it from here." He said, and Anzu nodded, only half-awake. But she went to bed without arguing.

Yugi took her place by the door.

The girl looked asleep.

Nothing happened for a while.

Soon, his eyes began to shut themselves on their own accord.

And then he heard it.

Some strange noise was coming from the garden.

Casting the last glance on the sleeping girl, as quietly as he could Yugi started his journey to the garden. The girl didn't seem to be a threat, since she had no weapon on her and was fast asleep.

Strange noises from the garden were something else.

He decided to take the quickest route, through the kitchen.

Trying the hardest he could to remain quiet, he opened the door leading to the garden and went outside.

The sun was barely signalizing its presence on the East. The air was cold and hostile, even if not exactly strong. And there was something in front of the house.

Now that Yugi was closer, it sounded like a shovel.

He concealed himself behind the nearest bush and squinted, trying to see in the semi-darkness. True enough, there was someone digging in his yard.

What shall he do?

Stop them?

Ask them what were they doing?

"Why are you hiding in the shadows?" Yugi recognized the voice immediately. Oh, gods. The prince. Did he anger him? Did he commit some kind of trespass?

"I am sorry, Your Highness. I came to investigate the noise." He answered, standing up and hoping that it would be enough.

"Is your curiosity satisfied?" A shiver run down Yugi's spine. The voice, even when calm, held some menace within. And yet, he wanted to know.

"Not entirely. Can I ask, what are you doing, My Prince?" At that, the prince stilled.

"I am not anyone's prince, not yet. " The reply only confused Yugi, but he did not dare ask further. "I lost the title when they bested me. " continued the prince, as if hearing the unspoken question. " I shall prove to be worthy of both title, and my name. Till then, my lord will do." this time Yugi could almost hear the smile that followed the last sentence. So the prince was indeed mad.

"As for what I am doing. I am paying for my actions."

 _That explains nothing._

Yugi gathered all of his courage and started to approach the prince.

"I would advise you not to." Even though spoken by this regal, dreadful voice, this sentence did not carry any evil will with it. To Yugi's amazement, it truly sounded just like an advice. He stopped in front of the prince and looked down the hole in the ground that the prince produced.

In the hole laid Arkana and his head.

Arkana's outfit was covered in blood. But his face was almost peaceful, and if it weren't for the fact that the head was severed from the body, Yugi would swear that his previous care-taker was asleep. Paradoxically, the man looked almost at ease.

Still, Yugi felt weak looking at the corpse this close. Soon it was covered with soil, since the prince went back to his ministrations.

Yugi could recall the younger, joyful Arkana from the time when the mother was still alive. He liked the man. He never thought of him as a father, but he considered him family. He missed him when the man was gone, and he'd prepared cake with Anzu for Arkana's birthday.

And now, few years later, he was standing by his early grave, conversing with Arkana's killer and feeling... relieved.

A pang of self-hatred entered Yugi's heart.

No one deserved to die.

Even Arkana.

To think that had he not spoken, him and Anzu would be lying here as well...

"Would you bury as too, had we not convince you otherwise, my lord?" He asked, not really intending the prince to hear. Panicked, he jerked his head to look at the man, apology ready on his lips. He was welcomed with a grim smile.

"Yes." And then, as if not aware of what this one word did to Yugi, the prince turned to the East and frowned.

" You will accompany me back to the house now." He said as he covered Arkana with the last part of soil.

Yugi certainly knew better than to argue. But he did look to the East, wondering what made the prince turn back. The only thing that changed was the sun, now rising proudly, bathing the garden in subtle light.

So the prince disliked the sun. Yet, another mystery Yugi will never solve, for he would not dare to ask.

They entered the kitchen.

"You and your sister are not to leave the house unaccompanied." Ordered the Mad Prince as he opened the door leading to the main hall. "Ah! Mana. Good day." When Yugi followed him he was greeted with the sight of the girl he left sleeping in front of Anzu's door, scrubbing the blood off the floor.

"Good morning, my prince!" Answered the girl, Mana, apparently, smiling at the prince as if he was her best friend.

"I shall leave our host in your hands." And with that, he climbed the stairs and disappeared in the hall on the first floor.

"Well." Yugi snapped his attention back to the girl, the tension leaving his shoulders. He never even noticed, how stressed he was in the prince's presence. The girl didn't look so threatening.

"Sorry that we didn't clean it up earlier. But, you know, we were tired and actually awful things happened yesterday, so it slipped my mind." She said, smiling at him. " As you heard, my name is Mana. And I've met your sister, Anzu, but I don't know your name."

Yugi considered for a moment. Then, he kneeled next to her.

"And I'm Yugi. Nice to meet you." And it was true, he decided. Mana seemed aware that what happened yesterday was... Not something you could just shake off in a moment. But she seemed to be bent on creating civil relations. "I should help you." He offered, feeling that he possibly wasn't ready to just scrub away the evidence of yesterday, but it was his house, his responsibility.

Mana seemed to notice that, because she shook her head. "Don't do that to yourself, Yugi. I will manage. If not for the prince's order, I would send you away so you wouldn't have to look at it. You both have seen enough." She said, and Yugi could feel compassion in her voice. But he did not look into her eyes. He was not quite prepared to befriend people who changed his whole life in one night and brought another kind of fear to replace the one they destroyed.

So Yugi just nodded his head, eyes glued to the nearest splat of blood.

" Yugi." This time, Mana's tone was serious. That got Yugi's attention" I cannot explain to you why the thing happened the way they did, it is too early for that, but trust me - we wouldn't allow it if it wasn't for the best. We trust our prince, and maybe soon enough, you will as well. There is more going on than you think and we are here for a reason, that I can tell you."

For a moment, Yugi didn't know what to say. He felt anger at her words, but not at her personally, so he held his tongue. He also didn't want to insult the prince in front of his knights, yet he could not voice his assurance that he certainly will trust the prince, because _he didn't want to trust the man_.

Mana might be nice, the rest of the knights also, but they were another pressuring presence in Yugi and Anzu's lives. From one cage they run into another one. So Yugi truly didn't think that anyone could blame him for wishing the intruders to just go and leave them alone.

"Maybe you are right. For now, I think we will have to try and learn how to live without Arkana but with you instead." He finally said.

"I promise you, we are much nicer than we let on and we will be gone sooner or later. Just you see, you will miss us when we go." Here, Mana winked at Yugi, but her face fell when she saw Yugi's lack of enthusiasm. "Sorry. I am awful at dealing with heavy stuff so I always try to make people laugh. And then people call me inconsiderate." She explained and her pout finally got through Yugi's defenses.

"Well, you kind of are." He replied, faint smile on his face. That seemed enough.

"Oi! Yugi, you all right!?"

Yugi jumped to his feet and turned towards the new voice. Joey!

There he was, standing on the stairs, the blonde lady behind him like a guardian. Not bothering with her, Yugi ran to his friend hugged him as hard as he could. "Thank gods, nothing happened to you!" He shouted.

"Yea, nothing except for that woman knocking me out after they interviewed me." Here Joey gestured at the blonde, who ignored him.

"How did you get here?" Just after asking this question, Yugi looked out of the window. "You know what? Tell me while we are on the way to town. I need to buy some things for breakfast since there are more of us. "

And they both started to the door, when they were stopped by the blonde.

"You will certainly not mind that we will tag along?" She asked, gesturing Mana to join her.

Oh.

No privacy.

No way of escaping.

The history likes to repeat itself.

Now that the prince was here, who will save them _from_ the prince?


	3. Chapter 3

When Anzu finally woke up she felt rested as never before.

For a while, she forgot everything about the last night, her mind concentrating only on the fact that she was free to sleep.

But soon, along with the persistent sunrays, the memories of yesterday flooded back. Arkana was gone. But the prince and his troops were still here.

She opened her eyes and looked around. She was in her mother's room and nothing seemed out of place. Now, with the sun shining outside, the fear and despair lost its impact. Instead of dread, Anzu felt hope. Their visitors had not killed them yet, and after the talk with Mana Anzu had a premonition that they will not do so, unless provoked. What could be counted as provocation was a different matter.

She got up, and got dressed.

When she opened her doors, Yugi was not there.

Neither was Mana.

Yet, Anzu did not feel worried. The calmness she felt was strange, but it was a definite improvement compared with the terror of yesterday.

She went down to the kitchen. No one was in sight, but then, she didn't' t expect anyone to be. After all, the knights were only people. She looked around for provisions, but there was not enough for a breakfast for eleven people. Maybe that's why Yugi was nowhere to be seen. He probably went to the town. She couldn't do anything without meat or bread, so she just sat down.

She had nothing to do. There was no duty. She had literally nothing to do. Arkana demanded many things to be done, things that were not necessary, and without him Anzu had no idea what to do with her time. Clean? Everything was cleaned yesterday, before the invaders came. Polish the silver? Done. Laundry? Done.

She was _free_.

It was a strange concept.

Then, she remembered. Father's room. She got up and went upstairs. She could finally get rid of Arkana's mark on the room. Now it would be given to Yugi who deserved it as his father's son.

She stopped in front of the door.

Some part of her was afraid. What if she opened the door and found Arkana still here?

It was impossible, she knew.

And yet.

Anzu swallowed and opened the door.

He was not there.

Of course, he wouldn't be.

She released a breath she didn't know she was holding.

Almost every item her father possessed was either thrown out or destroyed. She was never permitted to this room, so she assumed he brought some things of his own to this, making up for father's furniture.

But no.

Only furniture here was their mother's.

Every piece of her jewelry, every dress she possessed, was here. Even her mirrors or her hairbrushes, useless to the man, were hidden here.

On the dressing-table Anzu spotted mother's perfume, untouched.

 _He must have loved her very much._

She was aware of that before, but only now she understood to what extent.

But that changed nothing. Love was not an explanation for things Arkana did to her and Yugi. Love was a force, a feeling, and it depended on the man what he did with it. Arkana chose and was held accountable, he was given the price to pay.

Anzu was sure that Yugi was now busy making excuses for Arkana, now that the man was dead, but Anzu didn't have it in her. She refused to let go of her memories of torment, both Yugi's and hers, she refused to absolve Arkana of his sins. She was better off without him. And Yugi was too. Besides, understanding someone did not necessarily mean forgiveness. She was not ready to forgive. Her story was still in motion.

She could not determine how her life with Arkana would factor in her future.

But after the whole night, she finally saw the light. Maybe, it was for the better.

And maybe, even though terrifying, this prince was the one they needed.

Sound of steps brought her back to reality.

She went on cleaning the room.

Before Yugi gets back, he will have a room ready.

/

Yugi didn't know how that happened.

One moment, he was wary and unsure of his companions, the next he was talking animatedly with Mana and Mai, the blonde woman who defeated Joey.

Anzu would possibly scold him later, for she usually considered his trusting nature to be at least unwise, bordering on dangerous, but for now Yugi could not be bothered.

He never noticed it before, but before Arkana's death the only ones he came into contact with was Joey and occasionally people in the village.

Now, he was free to talk to anybody he wanted.

No one would scold him, and no one will tell him to shut up. Mai and Mana, when he finally let go of the fact that they were of Mad Prince's troops, proved to be amusing companions.

"Oh, come on! Like you have never been peeking at girls at the tailor's." Teased Mai, as Joey started to shout his indignation at her, and Yugi chuckled, for the first time in months.

Mai, though tough and imposing at the first sight, was not only interesting, but pretty friendly. She was the one who spotted Joey trying to sneak on the group in the forest, and she actually warned him before she captured him. It was just like Joey to rush head-first into danger only because he was too confident in his skills to actually think.

They questioned him and then, knocked him out, according to Joey- after a long fight. According to Mai- with one well-aimed punch.

Maybe that fact, followed by the group's insistence on taking him with them and not leaving him to die in the forest finally made Yugi warm up to the knights. He couldn't really judge them for actions of their leader. Everyone was their own person, no matter who they followed and believed in. Or at least, they should be considered as individuals, not as a group.

And as individuals, Mai and Mana seemed... nice.

"Hey... Not that I am opposed to it, but why are you exactly accompanying us?" He asked after a while, no longer afraid of saying anything.

"Well... We do want to see the city..." Started Mana, uncomfortable one again.

"...And we need to keep an eye on you." Finished Mai, and Mana looked at her with gratitude. " Our place of stay must remain a secret for now and whether you would do it consciously or not, we cannot let you inform people that we are staying at your house." She explained.

"Why exactly?" Yugi didn't ask why they didn't trust them, because he himself wasn't ready to trust them yet, but the purpose of the knights and the secrecy was something Yugi was dying to ask about. Mana seemed unsure of which part of their mission she was able to reveal to them, but Mai seemed more confident.

"Because we are not entirely welcome here. I think you remember that our prince is supposed to be dead. And I can assure you, the suicide story is a very vicious lie." At that, Mai's eyes narrowed. She looked angry all of a sudden. " Mad Prince... Really. I wonder why he decided to come back." She looked _disgusted._ Yugi opened his mouth to ask, but this time, Mana interrupted.

" This is Prince's story. He will tell you himself, if he wants." She said, giving Yugi apologetic smile." What do we want to buy?" Yugi welcomed the change of topic and with relief observed how Mai's features eased back into a smirk.

"Well, I need new clothes. " At this, Joey pointed to his tarnished shirt that bared the signs of its owner hitting mud and wet grass.

"Pshh. You are overdramatic." Tsked Mai, winking at Yugi.

Well, that was interesting.

He assumed that since the prince was presumed dead and then came back, he was here to get back his throne, that much was obvious. But why with so little people? And why did the prince need Yugi's house? Apparently to get those answers, he would have to ask the prince himself. If it depended on Yugi, he will never ask him anything again in his life.

/

When Anzu came down, the rest of the knight was up and about judging from the noise they made. When she entered the kitchen she was greeted with the sight of the almost white-haired boy looking around.

"Good morning." He said, looking embarrassed, as if Anzu had any power over him and he had to explain himself to her. That was something new.

"Good morning." She answered. The boy smiled at her.

"Is there anything to eat? I would hate to be a bother, but my stomach woke me up this morning and I..." He didn't finish because the door to the kitchen opened and in came Yugi, accompanied by Mana, Joey and the blond woman whose name Anzu didn't know.

"Good morning!" Shouted Yugi, emanating happiness all over the place. Anzu answered with a smile on her own, giving in the aura her brother ignited. She, and the boy answered at the same time, sharing a smile of their own. Well. There was no getting rid of them any time soon, they could at least try getting used to them.

"Well, Ryou, I see your hunger still knows no bounds."Said the blonde woman addressing the boy whose name apparently was Ryou.

"Well, I was dragged through the ship voyage for last two weeks so I am entitled to some nourishment, don't you think?" Retorted the boy, defensive.

Mana after waving at Anzu, approached Ryou. " Here, we brought food. If you can wait a little longer..." She said, and Ryou nodded.

"We can help." He proposed, to Anzu and Yugi's surprise.

"You must be really desperate." Said Joey, and smirked." Then, I shall help too. Apparently, I am not getting home any time soon." At that, Anzu looked at Yugi, asking him a silent question.

"Our guests want to remain unnoticed for a while and they don't trust us not to go around spreading the news." He explained. Shame on Ryou and Mana's face was evident. The blonde woman seemed unfazed.

"But... What about Serenity?" Asked Anzu, taking the food from Yugi and putting it on the counter.

"That's the fun part..." Started Joey, but the woman beat him to it.

"We wanted to ask you, if we could move her here." She said. " It would be easier to keep Joey here, and protect her if she stayed with us." Protect? Anzu frowned at that. What did they want to protect Serenity from? Themselves?

Yet, she nodded anyway.

Maybe Serenity was to become an additional hostage, maybe they truly wanted to protect her from some unnamed threat. Nevertheless, Anzu would feel better having the girl here instead of all by herself in the hut in the woods, waiting anxiously for Joey to return.

Yugi beamed at her.

"More the merrier!" He said and went to get the plates.

Ah, Yugi. Since he was younger, some of the possible cruelties of the world still escaped him. Or maybe he was simply too optimistic.

"That's settled then. I will go get her." Said the blonde woman, retreating from the kitchen.

"Yeah, you do that, Mai. We all know you are just trying to escape kitchen duty." Called Joey after her.

"You got that right!" Came the answer, and Joey grinned.

Anzu was always aware that Joey was very open-minded and forgiving, not to mention not exactly the brightest of men, but his attitude made her wonder. Joey must have noticed her expression, because he turned to her.

"I spoke with Mai yesterday, after I woke up. She told me about Arkana. And what happened to him." He said, his face suddenly changing into frown. " The conversation of why you never told me is still to be had, but for now I want to stay here with all of you. " That sentence was met with quizzical stares not only from Anzu and Yugi, but also from Mana and Ryou.

"Why would you do that? Not that we are complaining." Inquired Ryou, sitting at the table.

"Because you are here to change something." Now even Anzu stopped what she was doing. " I know, what your prince did to Arkana was awful, but hell, if even half of the things Mai told me was true, the man deserved it. And you cannot say that everything was all right in this kingdom lately. The taxes, the guards, the Ghouls... " He said, looking at Anzu and then at Yugi. " I cannot phantom what you guys feel, because for you it is personal. But for me, as long as they don't hurt you, they seem to be what we need. A change." He said and left the kitchen, saying that he wanted to help Mai.

Now, that was something Anzu did not consider before. She ignored Mana's answer and got back to the work in front of her. Joey, for all of his carelessness was right. She didn't notice the bigger picture. Sure, Mana hinted that they were here for a reason, but now, when the fears of yesterday lessened, Anzu could look at the situation with clearer mind.

It was obvious they were here to bring changes. She just focused on the change they already brought into her and Yugi's lives, but as the Prince said, for his troops it was just a minor part of their plan. They were here for the house. Not for them.

And, even though Anzu perceived them as such at first, they were not invaders, not exactly. They came from here, they were returning. And she couldn't argue with Joey's argument. True, the state of the kingdom lately was nothing like she remembered from childhood.

But was it possible for such a small unit to change it?

True, they had a fearsome leader, but would it be enough?

And what part she and Yugi had to play here, if they refused to be the necessary victims on the path to glory?

"Excuse me, Mana, Ryou, can you please bring those plates and mugs to the dining room? Since you offered to help?" She asked, watching the two nod and take the mentioned items. For a moment, she was alone with Yugi.

"What happened this morning?" She asked in a whisper.

"Nothing much. They went with me and Joey to the market, helped us do the shopping, chatted for a moment with people there. They said they were our cousins. It actually passed, since Mai has similar hair to our mother. With Mana, there were few stares, but no one asked anything." Answered Yugi. Anzu nodded.

So, nothing out of ordinary.

"As I said, they don't trust us very much." Yugi's voice sounded somehow disappointed. That was typical of Yugi. When he was small he wanted everyone in his vicinity to be his friend. During Arkana's reign his need seemed to lessen somewhat, but now Anzu could see the child Yugi was in her brother's face. It was a good development.

Ryou and Mana came back.

"Anything else?" Filled with a sudden gratitude towards these people, Anzu smiled at them and asked them to help with tea.

 _/_

When the breakfast was ready, Yugi volunteered to go and wake, or at least invite to the dining room, the rest of the guest.

The first room he encountered was empty so it probably belonged to Mai or Mana.

The second one was occupied by the brown-haired man, who thanked Yugi for the information and went downstairs without much ado.

The next man, the one with brown skin and bald head said nothing, but bowed to Yugi after he told the man to go to the dining room.

Before Yugi could knock on the fourth door, they opened on their own accord.

"You must be here to tell me about the breakfast." Said the woman who opened them, a polite smile on her face. She had black hair and now, as those eyes were bored into his, he noticed they were blue.

"Err... Yes?" He answered, thrown off by the woman's gaze on him. She was looking at him as if he was some problem to be analyzed, or some riddle she wanted to solve.

"I am grateful to you." She said and just like the man before her, she bowed her head and went down.

Slightly nervous, Yugi went on with his task.

The next room was empty as well, so he moved on. To his surprise, the sixth room was empty too. Was there a knight on the loose here? The dread Yugi was sure had disappeared, came back.

But it was short-lived, for the next room gave him an answer regarding the whereabouts of the knight. The tanned man with a tattoo on his face was apparently sharing the room with the blond and tanned one, the one whose looks got Yugi's attention yesterday. While the tall man with the tattoo was up, the blonde seemed to be still asleep.

"I wanted to tell you that the breakfast is ready." He said to the tall man, trying not to stare at the man's tattoo.

"I thank you, our gracious host." The man answered. _What's wrong with these people?_ Not that Yugi has never met people with good manners, but he was rarely the target of those manners. They would be more appropriate at the court than in this small mansion on the north. Maybe they were from the court... Maybe...

"Master Marik, please, wake up." Called the man, and the blonde called Marik, stirred.

"Rishid, I told you, don't call me Master. And let me sleep. I mentioned that too." Yugi looked at the man called Rishid, eyebrows rising in question.

"We shall join the rest soon." Said Rishid, and bowed his head once again. Yugi bowed as well, figuring it was something he was supposed to do.

He knocked at the eighth door. No one was there. But before he could panic, he remembered that Ryou was in the kitchen as well.

So that left the last room.

And the prince.

For a moment Yugi just stood in front of the door, not sure what to do. When he took leave of the prince, or rather, where the prince took leave of him, he implied that he was going to sleep. Maybe he didn't want to be woken? Would he be angry if Yugi interrupted his sleep? Or maybe he will be furious for not being called to breakfast?

The prince was unpredictable at best.

Finally, making up his mind, Yugi knocked.

There was no answer.

After another second of doubt, Yugi opened the door.

The room was very dark. Not entirely, for the curtains were not heavy enough, but it looked as if the prince refused to even acknowledge the sun's existence. The man in question was lying in bed, asleep. Now that the red eyes were not looking at him, Yugi found himself missing them. It was unnatural. When the man was awake he resembled a monster, with the glint in his eye, with the evil smile on his face, and that voice lacing every one word with threat and menace.

Now, he looked like an ordinary man.

When Yugi approached the bed he could see the circles beneath the princes' eyes and the exhaustion that could not be seen when he man's commanding presence took attention from his body. He looked tired. His breathing was not easy, as if he had some trouble catching breath. Or maybe he had nightmares instead of dreams.

Moved by some sort of sympathy for the man, Yugi decided to let him sleep.

He closed the door as quietly as he could and went downstairs to join the rest in the dining room.

/

The breakfast was... Strange, to say the least.

First of all, the room was full of people and life. The disappearance of Arkana stopped being a shock and was slowly changing into reality. There was no one to shout and demand the chores to be done in an hour and Yugi and Anzu were once again seated in the dining room, like the hosts, not servants.

And finally, the fear they felt of the people here, lessened.

Mahad, the man with the brown hair, the one closest to the prince, proved to be a wonderful company. While the prince was absent Mahad took it upon himself to make sure that the knights and the hosts stopped treating each other as possible enemies.

"Well, since you haven't murdered us, and as you can see, we haven't murdered you, I think we can safely assume that both parties will refrain from murdering each other in the future." He said before they started to eat. That earned him a few startled chuckles. "We are enforcing our company on the hosts and I can see that Mana and Mai, as well as Ryou, started to help out. I hope it is to your benefit and contentment?" He asked, directing his question at Anzu.

"It is." She said, only her expression betraying the uncertainty. Yugi understood his sister well. It was not that she didn't like help, it was simply that she didn't know what was the purpose of it.

"Then, whenever we are available, we shall be at your service. You probably figured what is our aim." Here, Mahad looked at both of them." And we can assure you that we have no intention of forcing you to do anything. The prince had passed his judgment on you. You are under our protection now. " Anzu and Yugi exchanged shocked stares. " That being said, we ask you to bear with our company whenever you leave the house. It is for both yours, and ours safety." Here, for some strange reason, he looked at Mana, who in turn responded with apologetic look.

"Fair enough. I did volunteer our help." Said Anzu, and Yugi could not refrain himself from looking at her in admiration. She talked like a lady now, not like a girl whose house was taken by force. " And I intend to hold our end of the bargain. Though, I do require some information. I am aware that I am asking much, but we cannot help if you don't share."

"You are asking us to trust us with our goals, yet you fear us." Observed the black- haired woman.

"Which is perfectly natural, Ishizu." Defended Mahad. " Considering the circumstances in which we have met." At that, the woman nodded her head.

Before anyone could continue, the door opened and Joey and Mai entered, guiding Serenity with them. Anzu immediately stood up, helping Serenity to the seat next to her. She had seen the girl that few times Joey brought her with him to his walks with Yugi and looking at her now, she immediately wanted to protect her.

"Sorry for being late. But our Serenity had some trouble believing in everything we said." Explained Mai, at which Joey snorted. He sat down next to Yugi and whispered. " She was convinced that we were being kidnapped. She started crying and Mai didn't know what to do. Of course, she started to cheer her up, to swear that everything is going to be fine and so on... Little did she know that Serenity is simply good at faking tears." At that, Joey winked. " But that proved that at least some of them have hearts." He mused.

Yugi just nodded.

Now, that the 'business' part was over, the conversation at the table moved onto lighter topics. Mahad was now entertaining Anzu with some anecdote about Mana's training since he turned out to be her mentor, while Mai was still talking with Serenity, as if worried about the girl.

In fact, everyone seemed to have a heart, to be just people. Marik was whining at Rishid, but Yugi could not hear what about. Ishizu was now adding to Mahad's story with details of Marik's training, making Yugi believe that she was somehow related to Marik.

He could get used to that.

The ghost of Arkana was finally leaving this place.

/

After the breakfast was over Anzu gathered Mai and Ryou to help her clean, while the rest of the knights went on to listen to Mahad's instructions. Just like Yugi suspected, Mahad was the second in command. Being left with nothing to do Yugi, urged by some kind of compassion, collected few things from the table onto the plate.

The prince might be sleeping now, but he was going to wake up sooner or later and he would probably be hungry.

Yugi looked at the table. He will probably need something to drink as well. So he took a pot of tea.

Not bothered by anyone, he climbed the stairs.

Suddenly, he had so much time.

And so many people to spend it with.

He was still unsure whether he could completely move on from what had happened yesterday, but hearts heal, he heard. And after all, Anzu was right. Arkana was not himself anymore, and they were better off without him. That, and even though without his head, he had looked peaceful. Maybe the raging madness was too much too bear even for him. Maybe what happened was also the best for Arkana.

He reached the prince's door.

Planning to leave the food by the bed, Yugi didn't bother with knocking, afraid of waking the occupant of the room.

He opened the door and was greeted with the sight of the prince looking at him curiously from the chair next to the bed.

"I am sorry, I thought..." Yugi started, but was interrupted by the prince's gesture.

"You were here before and assumed I was asleep." He stated, red eyes once again open and focused on Yugi. Thankfully, now they just seemed calculating. "I cannot fault you for that. You acted out of kindness. But why do you return now?"

"I brought you food, Your Highness." It was all Yugi could say. He might start to feel at ease around the knights, but that did not applied to the prince. Especially now, when the man was looking at him with raised eyebrows, as if he said something surprising.

Yugi gathered his courage and brought the food closer to the prince, who motioned him to leave the plate on the desk . He took the tea, however.

"Well, so... I will be going..." He started, trying to get away from the man.

"Thank you, gracious host." Once again, this term! Now, Yugi was sure that Ishizu and the rest were from the palace.

"There is no need to address me as such, Your Highness. My name is Yugi." He replied. Once again, the prince raised his eyebrows.

"Then I shall address you as Yugi, if that is your wish." The cold manners of the prince unnerved Yugi. Everything about the man was cold, even his fury. Maybe that's what made him so fearsome.

The sunshine behind the curtains intensified as the wind moved them, letting the sun enter the room. The prince closed his eyes when light fell on him, and moved his chair back, as if escaping from the light. Maybe that was why he was not asleep. Then, a new thought entered Yugi's mind.

"Your Highness... If you wish we can prepare a room on the second floor for you. It has windows to the West, maybe it would be more bearable there...?" He did not know what possessed him to say that, but once it was out of his mouth he could do nothing but hold his ground.

The prince seemed to be deep in thought.

"That would be deeply appreciated." He answered finally, bowing his head slightly. The red eyes bored into Yugi, and he was reminded of the way Ishizu looked at him, as if he was something out of ordinary, something to be analyzed.

"Then I shall let you know when the room is ready, Your Higness." With that, Yugi bowed and escaped the room to inform Anzu on this development.

/

The rest of the day was so normal that it was abnormal.

After cleaning after the breakfast Anzu had nothing to do. Mahad insisted on her getting rested, and dispatched Ryou and Mana to bring water.

After a brief talk with Yugi she prepared the room most to the west for the prince, wondering about the reasons for the change. Yugi didn't tell her what made him ask that of her, and Anzu decided to respect that. Maybe the prince told him something Yugi was not supposed to share. If he had not told her on his own, it must be it.

On the other hand, it was even better. Now the prince's room could be given to Serenity. Yugi told her about the Marik and Rishid sharing the room, so even Joey could be given a bed. She felt like an inn owner instead of a servant and it was a good change.

After she was finished with the prince's room she went to inform him and help him with his things.

When the man opened the door, she suddenly remembered why he was scary in the first place. He looked haunted, sitting in the least lighted spot in the room. She immediately noticed the plate on the desk, untouched, and the pot from the breakfast, in turn looking empty.

 _Yugi._

 _Only Yugi would think about bringing the man breakfast._

"The room is ready, Your Highness." The man bowed his head a little and stood up. She just now noticed that he was shorter than her. He gathered his armor and a bag she hadn't noticed before, and followed her to the second floor.

The first thing he did when he entered the room was closing the curtains.

He dumped his things next to the bed and turned to her.

"Most grateful, hostess." Even though the words were polite, the dismissal in them was hard to miss. She nodded and left the room.

Right now, the man didn't look mad. He looked like a prince though, regal and well-mannered.

The rest of the day was surprisingly uneventful.

Mahad and the rest trained in the garden, doing some strange game of tag mixed with wrestling, and Anzu got bored of watching it after an hour.

She decided to check on Serenity and get her story.

The girl, even though blind, proved to be very perceptive.

"They do not seem as bad people. At least, Lady Mai doesn't seem bad. Joey left for a moment when she was comforting me, so he didn't hear all these nice things she said about him. She likes courage, you know? She told me she was a mercenary before she joined the Prince's troops. And she told me that Joey was very courageous. And I decided, I want to be brave too." Serenity was younger than Anzu, younger than Yugi even, yet now, her face looked very mature. " Joey told me that with their arrival some things will change. And I think I want to help. I know I cannot do much, but." Here, Anzu hugged the girl. She probably didn't like her life as it was until now, and Anzu could relate. She too wanted a change, and the prince brought that with him.

"Don't say that. You should be well aware that some help does not involve swords and may be more valuable than strength alone." She said. That's what her mother always said whenever Anzu complained about not being able to help father on his trips. " There are other things that you can do, things that they cannot. That's the balance of the universe. Some things you cannot do, but in turn, you can do things no one else can."

They sat together in silence, just embracing. For some reason Anzu felt she was not only talking to Serenity. Maybe she was also convincing herself.

"Thank you, Anzu." Said Serenity after a while.

They sat in the garden for a few hours, moving onto lighter topics. During Arkana's reign Anzu did not have the opportunity to get to know the girl better. She was too young for them to really meet when they were kids, and later it was too late. Now, they had time.

The dinner went similarly to the breakfast, with this slight change that now Anzu was aided in the kitchen not only by Yugi and Ryou, but also by Mana and Marik. She soon figured out that this three was the youngest amongst the knights, and honestly, it was for the better. They got along pretty well, if not counting the fact that Marik could not be trusted with food. He and Ryou were sneaking bites here and there and it was novel to Anzu. The last time someone did that in this kitchen, it was her and Yugi, and it was long, long time ago.

As in the case of breakfast, the prince did not join them. It was possibly for the better, because the atmosphere was even merrier. True, Ishizu, Rishid and the bald man, who according to Mana's testimony was called Shada, stayed mostly quiet, but even if they haven't, their voices would be possibly drowned by Mai's tale.

She truly had been a mercenary, for the stories she told took parts in different parts of the world. True, sometimes Mahad would look at her incredulously as if had some doubts about authenticity of the tales, but he did not interrupt.

Yugi was fascinated as Anzu observed.

Soon enough, she also let herself drift into this strange, yet pleasant air.

So of course, it couldn't last.

The sun was almost down when it happened.

Everyone was in the garden, watching Joey wrestle Marik. It was supposed to be an exercise and entertainment in one, and true enough, commentaries made everything entertaining, especially since Joey was great deal taller than Marik, and yet could not best him.

"Someone is coming." Said Serenity suddenly. "I can hear someone there." Here, she pointed at the forest. True enough, while spotted, someone started running. Mahad and Marik ran after the shape that disappeared in the forest, while the rest of the knights positioned themselves in front of Anzu, Serenity and Yugi, keeping their eyes on the house and forest, waiting for the intruder to appear.

"Let's hope it is only an animal." Said Mana, but her tone betrayed her lack of belief in possibility of this turn of events.

For a moment everything was quiet.

Anzu could hear the bugs flying around. The sun was almost gone.

"They are coming back." Anzu looked at Serenity. She heard that lack of sight enhanced other senses but she never believed it. Now, she had the final proof. She herself hadn't heard anything until Mahad and Marik returned with a man between them.

He was conscious and was looking around the garden, as if looking for someone.

"They were right." He said, his tone full of satisfaction. He sounded like a drunkard, yet he was pretty sober, Anzu was sure of it. A spy? Why? How?

"Who was?" Demanded Mahad.

"The children on the market. They said they saw a strange brown lady. We heard that he was coming back. Lord Crawford knows everything. But to let her" Here, he motioned to Mana" be spotted in public? That's lousy. Is he really mad now?" Mahad was glaring at his pupil now and Anzu immediately felt bad for her. On the other hand, now she knew why the knights were so bent on secrecy. Someone was waiting for them to come.

She's never heard of Lord Crawford before, but then again, how could she?

She turned to Yugi.

"Well, that would explain some things." He said to her, nervous. She nodded.

"And where is your prince, if I may ask? Is he so broken that he cannot move? Or is he really dead and you are just a band of rebels trying to wreck havoc in his name?" The man taunted, not bothering with two people holding him down. Maybe he wasn't afraid of anything. Maybe he was just putting up a front.

"I am right here, Panic." Said a new voice coming from the kitchen. Anzu and Yugi turned. True enough, the prince was standing there, calm and menacing at the same time. " I haven't seen you in a while."  
At that, the man, Panic, paled somewhat.

Apparently he truly believed that the prince was not here and the knights were acting of their own accord.

"You will not succeed." Said the man and threw off Mahad and Marik in one powerful shove.

"That remains to be seen. But I do not lose." Answered the prince as he approached Panic who in turn stayed in place, as if rooted to the ground.

"Would you like to test my luck? Shall we play a game?"

Momentarily, Anzu and Yugi looked at each other. _Not again, oh gods, not again._

The spy laughed.

"Screw your games. This ends here!" Panic shouted and ran to the prince. Ryou and Ishizu, being the closest, tried to stop him, but they were too late.

The knife that Panic took gods know from where slashed the prince's arm. The prince spun around, kicking Panic's legs. The aggressor stumbled and fell, while the prince stepped one foot on his chest. Mahad and Marik immediately caught the man's arms, making any attempt at getting away futile.

When Anzu looked at prince's face she saw the same cold fury she saw yesterday.

"You should have accepted the game. Now you lost by default." The cold satisfaction in prince's voice made Anzu shiver. Yugi looked pale as a ghost. Even Joey seemed to be afraid. "I must be just as a ruler, don't I?" Panic looked as if every ounce of arrogance and confidence he had before, left him. His face now fit his name.

The prince put more pressure on Panic's chest and the silence of the night was disturbed by the sound of bones breaking.

" Yugi, our gracious hostess. I advise you to head back home. You shall be not forced to watch." Said the prince, addressing them out of the sudden. Anzu, not ready to witness another murder took Serenity's hand and pushed Yugi to follow her. They were not ready for this.

 _Oh, gods, why._

Before the doors to the kitchen closed after them, she could hear another bone breaking.

"I think that you know what the punishment for cowardice and treason is." Came the prince's still seemingly calm voice, and Anzu rushed upstairs.

 _Justice._

She looked at Yugi and Serenity.

They passed the judgment, Mahad said.

Now she vowed to never, ever do anything to bring justice on their heads. For now, she understood. The prince was just. He truly did what he had to do, looking at it from the perspective of the greater goal.

But for them, little individuals, a murders stayed a murder.


	4. Chapter 4

Not hearing anything was actually worse.

Yugi's mind was running wild coming up with many ways the prince could torture the spy, and every little one was too scary to picture.

It was horrible.

Anzu and Serenity were quiet as well, not even bothering with maintaining the appearances of normality.

The three of them were hidden in mother's room, waiting for some sort of sign that it was over.

"I think I smell fire..." Said Serenity after a while. Yugi decided he didn't want to pursue this train of thought.

Anzu sighed." Joey was right though." Noticing Yugi's gaze, she shrugged." It is wrong for us. For their quest or whatever that is, it is a necessity. We are not operating on the same moral standards." She explained.

Yugi considered that. True, Panic could tell everyone where the knight were, bring back his men and kill everyone here. But on the other hand... It was human life they were discussing here. Who were they to decide who lives and who dies?

Yugi was aware that he was being naive.

World did not work this way. People were born with the feeling they _could_ decide and royalty was definitely not an exception. Nevertheless, Yugi would prefer not to take any part in it. He wondered what would have happened if he had run to the prince and stopped him.

Probably he would end up dead.

Or blamed for the prince's death. Panic did hurt him after all. If Yugi had interfered...

 _That was brave of you to speak to me like that. Do not do it again, for you shall be punished._

He would probably share Panic's fate.

But did that mean he was excused from trying to save a life? Would he just get used to daily murder, not batting an eye at it any longer just because _it was for greater good_?

The sound of steps sounded on the stairs.

Before Yugi could panic, he remembered that the prince had other reasons than murdering them to be on the second floor. His own room was here.

He looked at Anzu and Serenity. Serenity's face held some kind of grim resolve. She seemed to be handling the situation pretty well. Well, since her brother had a tough spirit it was no wonder that she did too. Anzu looked a little more shaken.

"... We will need to make haste. They know too much. Bring me some bandages and call Mana to me. Later we will meet in the dining room. I thought we had more time." That was the prince. He didn't sound maniacal, rather calm and collected, as if he was discussing his next move in chess instead of rebellion. Because that what it was. A rebellion against the current ruler.

Yugi was not sure whether he preferred the prince to the king.

But then he thought once again on Anzu's words.

He was narrowing his perspective. He could recall hearing in his childhood days about the prince's troops that kept the borders safe and brought justice with them wherever it was needed. Maybe this ruthlessness was truly what the prince and his followers thought best. Yet Yugi's heart could not agree with it.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Anzu got up first, revealing Mahad standing in the corridor.

"I apologize for the disturbance, but I need to ask you. Can you please give me some bandages and water?" Yugi jumped on his feet.

"I will bring them to the prince's room in a moment." He said, gesturing for Anzu to stay. She might be his older sister, but he was the man. It was his job to protect her and entering prince's room was definitely dangerous.

That, and he simply wanted to understand, he could not deny it.

He went down to the kitchen to prepare a bowl of water and to gather what was left of the mansion's supply of bandages.

On his way he saw the rest of the knights and Joey gathered in the dining room, discussing something quietly. The only one not involved was Mana, who was sitting next to the door, her face hidden by the arms she folded on her bent knees.

Yugi felt a rush of pity when he looked at her. Panic said something about her being recognized at the market, so she most probably blamed herself for what happened. He wanted to go to her, to comfort her somehow, but decided against it. It was not his place. And he had something to do.

Now when he thought about it, he almost forgot about the prince being hurt. Sure, he was aware of the knife piercing prince's arm, but somehow his mind did not associate it with pain and wound. Apparently his mind classified the prince as something else than human.

With water and bandages ready, Yugi rushed upstairs.

He knocked at the door and entered almost immediately after, in case the prince was unconscious from blood-loss or simply too tired to open the door.

At first he noticed Mahad kneeling in front of the prince who was seated on the bed. When the man heard Yugi he turned to face him, but was not fast enough with covering the worry on his face. Yugi looked at the prince, who was swiping something from the corner of his lips.

"Thank you..." Started Mahad, but Yugi just shook his head.

"It is no problem. I think you should check on Mana, if I may suggest." A glint of worry flickered in Mahad's eyes." Your Highness, if you let me, I can assist you in cleaning the wound." Continued Yugi, willing himself not to stutter and flee. It was the right thing to do. Someone had to treat the wound, and someone had to help Mana, especially since she was to be brought to face the prince soon.

"I'll take Yugi on his offer. Go to her Mahad, and bring her to me when you see it wise." Said the prince, nodding at his friend.

The man bowed his head and left the room, closing the door behind him in silence, nothing in his posture betraying the worry Yugi saw on his face before.

Yugi stepped closer to the prince. Now he could see the small, dried up trace of blood next to the left corner of prince's lips. He didn't know when the prince could suffer this wound, but then again, he wasn't present during the whole affair.

"I am capable of treating the wound myself. You are free to go." Yugi, startled, looked at the prince. He wanted to argue, to say that it was impossible, but then he remembered who he was dealing with.

"I would feel more reassured if I helped you, Your Highness." He said, trying to sound as polite and not patronizing as he could.

The prince snorted in amusement.

"You are a very skilled diplomat, Yugi. You are trying to disobey me without me noticing." Yugi felt shivers run up his spine. True, the tone was amused, but he remembered all too well prince's warning.

"I..." He started, frantically looking for some excuse, something that would spare him prince's anger.

"Fine. I don't have the time to waste on this wound, and if letting you do it will speed the process up, then I won't complain." Yugi sighed in relief.

He took a piece of cloth he brought with the bowl and started to clean the wound on the arm. It didn't look too deep and cleaned up nicely, hardly bleeding anymore. He tried to wipe every trail of blood he could see, determined not to look at it longer than necessary, at the same time aiming to remain gentle.

When he was finished, he lifted his eyes to ask the prince about the pain and was met with a thoughtful, calculating gaze.

"Your Highness?" He started, his confidence disappearing under this unwavering stare.

"You are afraid of me. And yet, you are here. Why?" He was not prepared for this, for questions. He thought back to their conversation on Arkana's grave. He just wanted to _understand_.

"Is it curiosity?" At that, Yugi flinched. A small, tired smile appeared on the prince's face. "It is. Ask then." Yugi nodded, focusing his attention on the bandage and wrapping it properly around the arm. He wanted to ask about many things but he knew that this permission was not boundary-free. He could not risk angering the man before him.

"What happened to that man?" He asked, deciding it was the safest of his questions.

"He is dead." That much Yugi figured out for himself.

"Serenity smelled fire." He noticed, not looking up from his task. Seeing prince's face stressed him out.

"Then she is a very valuable asset. Indeed, Panic's body was burned."

 _I am paying for my actions._

 _Would you bury as too, had we not convince you otherwise, my lord?_

 _Yes._

"Why not buried?" He asked, almost regretting the question. It came out too blunt.

"Because he was not from here. And he was not my subject. He was an enemy." Shocked, Yugi looked at the prince. So that meant that Arkana was a special case? Was it guilt? Did he truly regretted killing Arkana? Would he regret killing them?

Suddenly, the prince sighed.

"The thing that you need to understand, Yugi, is that we are at war. You do not see it yet, but this war started long ago. " At this, Yugi stopped pretending to be caught up in wrapping the bandage. It was done for some time already, and now Yugi had more pressing matters to focus on. Like the tiredness of the prince's face, so contrasting with the force of his words.

Even if he didn't want to, he would still listen, succumbing to the power of this calm, frightening voice. " I did not commit suicide, I think you are aware of that. Aknadin has no right to the throne and to the kingdom, and yet he enforces his will over people who have no reason to listen to him. A king is a protector first, and foremost. "

It was strange, but finally, Yugi understood what Joey was talking about earlier. The cause, bigger than them. A cause created out of the will of this man in front of him, a will so powerful and forceful that even Yugi started to give up, started to _see_.

"I came back, because it is my duty. It is my birthright. I do not intend to assassinate Aknadin and proclaim myself a king. I would not be one, unless the people consider me as such. Being discovered now by Crawford's men would be too soon. And it would put you, your sister and Serenity in great danger. Would it be really worth it, to pay for one man's freedom with the heads of my knights and my hosts?"

Yugi didn't know what was happening to him.

Every doubt, every fear he had before seemed to disappear. All that was left was this sudden faith in this prince, this man in front of him who burned a spy in Yugi's garden, and yet Yugi could no longer bring himself to care. At this moment, watching this bloodied, mad prince, Yugi believed in him and in his decisions.

He was woken up from his stupor by the prince's hands on his still bruised wrist.

"One thing I can promise you. No one in my land will ever suffer what you two had suffered. "

Yugi opened his mouth to say something, not even sure what, when he heard the knock on a door.

"Mahad." Said the prince, letting go of Yugi's wrist. "Come in." The door opened, and Mahad entered, Mana close behind him. Her eyes betrayed the tears she must've already wiped off her cheeks, yet she looked determined, as if whatever Mahad said to her gave her courage to face her mistakes.

"Thank you for your aid, Yugi. I will see you during the meeting in the dining room, soon after we are finished here. Let your sister and lady Serenity join us." Yugi just nodded, recognizing the command and dismissal in the tone.

He left the room and closed doors behind him.

Only then did he notice the erratic beating of his heart.

/

Anzu listened to Yugi's story with interest, yet for some reason she was not as moved as her brother. Maybe because she had already made up her mind.

It was strange, but the talk she had with Serenity have her strength. When Yugi told her about Panic being burned in her garden, she was not even surprised. It made sense to dispose of the body. And she agreed with everything the prince had said about Panic being a danger to them all.

"We're already part of it, Yugi" She said when her brother finished his account." I said we will help, and I really intend to do it. I don't know how we can be of use, but I have no intention of sitting here and waiting."

She noticed Yugi nodding. Good. They were on it together. As they always were.

She smiled at him and squeezed Serenity's hand. " Who knows. Maybe we will make it to the history books?" She joked, feeling a surge of energy and hope in her.

They could do something. Not like with Arkana, where they were powerless because of their feelings and fear. Now they had the Mad Prince beside them. They could shape their fate, they could make a difference.

And that made her ready to fight.

She knew that the feeling will disappear, but for now, she felt invincible.

She led Serenity downstairs to join the knights and Joey in the dining room.

"Are you all right?" Was the first thing Joey asked when Anzu, Yugi and Serenity entered the room.

"As well as possible." She answered. She immediately noticed the sympathetic look Mai gave her.

She smiled.

Sympathy was not needed.

Anzu's mind was made up.

"It always gives me a great joy to see someone else being traumatized by associating with our prince." Murmured Marik, loudly enough for Anzu to hear.

A startled laugh escaped her.

"That was not appropriate." Chided Ryou, shooting Anzu and Yugi worried looks.

"It is war." Answered Yugi. For a moment, everyone stared at him.

"Fair enough." Said Marik finally, and the knights went back to the conversations they had before Anzu and the rest entered.

Serenity immediately turned to Joey, but Anzu decided not to listen in.

"Things get awkward here pretty easily." She whispered to Yugi, and was answered with a nod.

"Well, for most of us it is a first." Said Ryou from Anzu's left.

"What do you mean?" Yugi asked, moving so that he could see both Anzu and Ryou.

"Aside from the prince, Mahad and Shada, we have not fought so much. I mean, sure, there were some fights, but we never exactly overthrew any kings or led the people to rebellion. We simply don't know what to do either."

"But you trust the prince?" Anzu could feel the frown form on her face.

"Don't you?" That was a good question. She was afraid of the man, true, so her answer should be obvious.

And yet. There was something so regal about him. She believed him when he promised to protect them. Hell, she was almost thankful that he was here when Panic appeared. That, and he got rid of Arkana for them.

"I do." She whispered, almost startled by her own answer.

"See?" At that, Ryou smiled.

"How did you meet him, if you are not from his original troops?" Ah, Yugi. Curious as always. But that was a good question. If only Mahad and Shada fought with the prince, how did the rest of people here got mixed up in this?

"Hmmm... Let's just say he saved me on his way here. I was a hostage on a pirate ship. He saved me and made sure none of the pirates was able to follow my trail." _By which he means that the prince slaughtered them all_. The new-found Anzu was not even bothered by this piece of information. But something in Ryou's tone caught her attention.

It was something like regret.

"Did you... lose someone?"Anzu looked at Yugi. She sometimes forgot how perceptive her brother was. She turned back to Ryou, who was now looking at his hands.

"It was for the better. He was not a good person." Anzu straightened her hand to comfort the boy next to her, but Ryou suddenly smiled. " Our prince taught me that 'good' and 'wise' are often mutually exclusive. And I am thankful for that lesson." He said, ending the conversation.

The doors to the dining room opened and Mana, Mahad, and the prince entered. All conversations ceased. They took their places in silence.

The prince remained standing by his chair, looking around the people gathered.

"In light of tonight's happenings, I think it is obvious that we do not have as much time as I thought we had. Even though we have chosen the most secluded house, closest to the sea border, we did not pass unnoticed. It is a drawback, but we were prepared for this." Few nods of agreement.

Suddenly Anzu understood what Yugi meant when he spoke of the force of the prince's voice. She herself felt ready to follow him into the battle this instant, trusting in his leadership.

"Shada, Ishizu, Rishid. Go to your terrains and start gathering people. You have one month. And I expect a report every three days, no matter how brief. I need to know where we are standing." The three people mentioned, nodded.

"Marik. I need you in the capital. I want to know every move Aknadin makes. If you feel threatened or have any notion of your cover being blown, you come back here. Understood?"

"Yes, Your Highness." The prince nodded with satisfaction.

"Ryou. " The boy flinched." Find out what's going on in Crawford's domain. If you are able, join his court. Both you and Marik- I need reports every three days or so. " Both boys nodded, Ryou slightly paler than before.

"You are not from this country so you shouldn't be associated with us. Nevertheless, if you feel unsafe, come back. Your safety is a priority." Said Mahad to Ryou, looking at the prince, as if looking for confirmation.

"Since our hosts decided to aid us, we need them to be prepared for what might be coming. Hence Mai, Mahad and Mana will be staying here. " Continued the prince. Then, he turned to where Anzu and Yugi were sitting.

"Even though we have a truce, whenever you wish to leave the mansion, don't leave unaccompanied. It is not a matter of trust, it is a matter of safety. We have been discovered once, so the area is no longer safe. " Anzu nodded immediately, Yugi doing the same. It was not the time to argue for ones independence. She knew she couldn't fight. Yet.

"You may also try to talk to people. Don't tell them too much, but try to see who might be a potential ally." Added Mahad.

"As for you, Joey, I need you to find the duke of Devlin." At that, Anzu and Yugi both gasped. Joey looked shocked as well, even more than the rest of the knights for whom this order seemed as surprising as it was for Anzu. What happened, why Joey was granted with such a confidence? The man in question looked as confused as Anzu felt.

"Where can I find him?" He asked, his voice only slightly wavering.

"We think he is somewhere close to capitol, or Crawford's land." Answered Mahad.

"He will be a good distraction. Upset him as much as you can. I shall make an appearance in front of him to throw Aknadin and Crawford off this mansion." At that, prince smirked." The duke always wanted a duel between us, he will be delighted to get it." Joey nodded, looking at Serenity. Mahad must have noticed his concern, for he assured Joey that Serenity would be safe.

"I am ready, Joey. I will be strong as you. I will be of use." She promised.

"We hope so. Your sense of smell and your hearing is quite impressive. It might prove crucial to us. That's why I ask you to let me train you." Said Mahad.

Everyone at the table, aside from prince, stared at Mahad in shock.

No, there was one more.

Mana.

She was looking anywhere but at Mahad. She looked heartbroken.

"It would be an honour." Answered Serenity and squeezed Joey's hand." See?"

"Any questions?" Even though it was a question, the tone implied the desired answer. And indeed, no one said a thing.

"Good. I trust you. All of you. I trust that we can bring back the balance this land so desperately craves. I shall see you all in a month." And with that, the meeting was over. Shada, Ishizu and Rishid stood up, bowed to the prince and started to confer with him in whispers, while the rest of the knights left the room.

"I think we shall go as well." Anzu proposed, glancing and Serenity and Joey who were holding their own discussion, holding hands and whispering.

"Yes." Agreed Yugi, pensive all of a sudden.

"It is a lot to take in, isn't it?" She asked, trying to get her brother to talk. Yugi had a tendency to be silent about his problems and concerns. And here and now they needed to be a strong unit. They need to be there for one another.

"Well, yes. It is overwhelming, to the point where I don't know whether I am dreaming or not." They passed the door.

For a moment Anzu felt somebody's gaze on her.

When she turned, she was met with a hard stare of the prince. It lasted only for a moment, for the man turned and brought his focus back to the conversation he was having, yet Anzu hardly could calm down her beating heart.

 _What a stare._

She looked at Yugi, who also turned to follow her gaze, and noticed him slipping back to his pensive mood when the prince turned back to Shada.

Maybe Yugi needed the moment for himself.

"I've prepared the room for you, as I promised." She said, as gently as she could.

Yugi was silent for a while. And then he hugged her.

"Thank you."

"You are welcome."

/

Even though he had now a whole room for himself, Yugi still couldn't sleep.

The events of the previous days went on playing in his mind and he could do nothing to stop them.

He did not know, whether he was more frightened, or more hopeful.

What's worse, even though he had spend a short amount of time with the knights, he knew he was going to miss them. Ryou, Marik, they were going somewhere, risking their life.

Joey, even though he shouldn't be a part of this, was also to leave for the good of the country.

And Yugi could not fault him for that.

In fact, he understood perfectly well.

For Yugi himself it was difficult, coming to terms with being only a pawn in somebody else's game, but apparently there was no other way.

And he could not fault the prince for that.

That was a strange thought.

Yesterday, the man was a villain.

Now, Yugi was not so sure. A monster? A hero? A survivor? A leader?

No matter who the man was, he certainly was _something_.

Yugi sighed and turned on his bed.

He was getting nowhere. Too many thoughts on his mind.

And poor Mana... Yugi wondered what happened to her after he left her with the prince. And that look on her face when she heard Mahad was to teach Serenity...

He was definitely not going to sleep any time soon...

Maybe a short walk in the garden would ease his mind?

He stood up and left his bedroom.

Everything was quiet. He envied the rest of the group their ability to sleep in this circumstances.

Finally, he reached the kitchen.

The light of the moon gave it some magical, fantastical air. Once again Yugi's mind supplied him with the vision of a fairy tale, where people were either noble or evil and beauty and truth always prevailed. Where love was stronger than death and forgiveness meant more than any riches.

Yugi liked those fairy tales.

Not as much as Anzu, but he always thought that the world should be as they pictured it to be. Simple and fair. _Just_.

Yugi exited the kitchen, stepping into the garden.

As if by a touch of a magic wand, his worries were gone. The nature was peaceful, even when Yugi's mind wasn't ,and he let the night embrace him and calm him.

"Cannot sleep?"


	5. Chapter 5

Yugi almost jumped.

He turned towards the source of the sound and sighed in relief when his eyes made out Mana's outline. Even though the voice was female, now that he thought about it, he still feared that it was somebody else.

"Unfortunately. Now, that you have given me the heart attack, I think I won't be able to sleep even more." he joked, hoping to cheer her up. Even in this darkness he could see the worry-lines on her face and the lack of her usual smile. She cracked a tired one at his comment, but that was it.

"Are you all right?" He asked, coming closer. Mana sighed and sat down on the grass in front of him.

"Everyone had been asking me that the whole evening. I know I messed up, I forgot to be careful. The prince was almost killed and our whole mission was endangered. I get it. But I can deal with it." She replied, anger lacing her words.

" I've been with prince and Mahad for far longer than any of them, even than Shada. I can own my mistakes. And I can move on. Just because I smile everyone seems to think that I'm fragile. I am not." She finished with force, almost shouting.

Yugi sat down next to her.

"I know that. I was asking about Mahad training Serenity, not about the Panic thing. " He explained, looking at the change on her face. The angry frown changed into a surprise.

"Oh, so you noticed that..." She murmured, embarrassed.

"I like looking at people. I haven't seen much of them lately."

Mana nodded in understanding.

"It's just... I am so used to him being my master that I forgot that he will and should take other students. Before it all started he was a teacher, both to me and to the prince, we grew up together. And suddenly, somebody new will take the position that have always be mine." The last sentence resembled a whine and Yugi unwillingly chuckled.

"Oh, yes, mock my pain!" She hissed at him. Her eyes were sparkling however, so Yugi decided not to apologize.

"But that means that you are no longer a student, right? You are the master now!" He pointed out. But at the same time, if Anzu decided to adopt Serenity as her younger sister he would probably feel the same way Mana did. It was his place, and his relationship with somebody precious to him.

"That, or Mahad just decided I'm a lost cause." This time it was definitely a whine.

"What exactly will he teach Serenity?"

Mana thought in silence for a moment.

"I don't know, honestly. I think he will want to make her into some kind of a spy. You know, people who cannot see are easily overlooked. And she can hear and smell better than us. So he will probably focus on that. But I don't know, because he never tells me anything." Ah great, now Mana looked even more depressed than before. Truly, Yugi's interpersonal skills were rusty at best.

"You said you grew up together?" He prompted, not having any better idea how to take Mana out of her silent brooding.

And truly, she jerked her head and looked at Yugi with a hesitant smile.

"That we did. I am the youngest of them, so I joined last, but we were pretty close, all three of us. The royal advisor did everything he could to keep us away from each other, we were awful, now when I think about it." Mana's smile grew bigger. " Mahad usually tried to settle us down a little, he was to become the next royal advisor after all... But he was also the one who thought that switching the heads of the gods at the temple would be a good idea. "

"What?" Maybe Yugi should have paid a little more attention to his own country, because he apparently did not know anything about royalty and the capital.

"Well, as you know, our kingdom is pretty open about religions. But the prince's family and people at the capital have their own, ancient religion. There's a royal temple and every celebration is held there, in front of our gods. I don't know about you people in the North, but we at the Centre believe in many gods and some of them have bodies of half-animal and half-human." Yugi nodded. True, father told them about it once, but it was so long ago... He should still have a book about ancient gods of capital, provided that Arkana haven't thrown it away at some point.

"And one day, the High Priest did something to Mahad, I don't even remember what. Nevertheless, Mahad gathered me and the prince and told us to help him in messing around with the priest. At first he just wanted to turn Sun god's head to the left, but the prince decided not to do the things half-way. And we switched them all. The crocodile got the head of the falcon, the jackal the head of the cat... The prince himself gave the falcon the head of the vulture. We thought we were being hilarious at that time. " Mana's smile started to wither.

"And then the High Priest took it as a bad omen and tried to take his own life. Of course, our prince told his father the truth and took the blame for our actions since he was the heir and 'should know better'. " Here, Mana looked straight into Yugi's eyes. " It was then when I realized I will follow him wherever he wants to go. And I think it was the same for Mahad. We are not of any bloodlines, we were servant's children. But he protected us as if we were really worthy of being his friends."

Yugi nodded, not sure why. Maybe to show Mana that he understood her reasons for being here, for witnessing everything that happened here with a calm heart.

Yet, the picture of the prince Mana painted had nothing to do with the man Yugi encountered. The prince Mana described was a mischievous, loyal friend, not a fearsome ruler who did not sleep at night and killed people without a blink of an eye. But at the same time... What was it that the prince had said that first night?

 _Yet, just in case, let me remind you - the one who killed your protector was me, so any revenge should be executed on me only_

Huh. So maybe some parts of him were the same... But...

"What happened to him then?" Only after he finished the sentence, Yugi noticed that he had said it out loud. _Oh, damn._

"You mean the prince?" Even Mana looked wistful at the moment.

"Well, yes. Mahad you described I can reconcile with the image of Mahad I know now. The prince though..."

"He hasn't changed that much, you know? True, he is rougher and sharper around the edges, but inside he is the same. He cares for us and he cares for his kingdom. He wants justice, just like he always did. There is only one thing that changed that much, now when I think about it." Yugi gave Mana a curious look.

"He doesn't smile anymore. Ever since he'd returned to us, I've never seen him smile." Yugi put his hand on the girl's arm and squeezed it gently, trying to reassure her somehow. _Ah, and she is sad again. Good going, Yugi._

"He returned from...?" He inquired, trying to appease his curiosity. He was terrible at cheering people up, apparently, so he could just as well have some of his questions answered.

"That is the problem. I don't know. He disappeared for three years. The new king said that it was suicide. But we knew better. We've been searching for him everywhere, and then, one day, he stumbles into our quarters, pale and grim and that's it. He looked awful, I thought he was going to faint and die any moment. But he didn't." Mana now started to fiddle with grass near her, as if trying to focus her attention on something else. But Yugi noticed the tears in her eyes.

"He asked Mahad to come with him, and that was it. He rested for few days and then told us that he must run away from his country for a while. We said we were going with him. He just nodded. And then, when Shada joined us, we left the kingdom for a year. On our way we have found many friends, as you can see. But he never told us where he has been these all years. I think Mahad knows, but he refuses to tell." Oh, so it was a mystery. Yugi loved mysteries.

He looked at the moon, barely peeking out from behind the clouds. So many changes in such short time, and yet here he was talking calmly with a girl he met yesterday, calm and content enough to notice the beauty of the night. Human mind is a strange place. Nevertheless, now that Yugi looked around the garden, he could see how magnificent a night could look. No wonder the prince preferred staying here at night... Oh, right.

"Did the prince always refuse to sleep at night and prowled about?" At that Mana laughed.

" _Prowled_?"She wheezed, still laughing.

"That is a legitimate question and a legitimate description." He defended, looking around. If the prince was here, he really shouldn't hear Mana and Yugi laughing at him.

"If you say so." Agreed Mana, calming down." And to answer your question, no, he changed his routine after he came back. I actually asked him about it. He said that he was not used to sun anymore and that's it. He doesn't go up in flames when he enters the light though, if that's what you want to know."She finished and went back to laughing. Now, Yugi felt embarrassed. It's not like he thought that the prince was some mythical creature, he was just curious. And now he was getting laughed at. Wonderful.

But soon, the hilarity of the assumption alongside the word 'prowled' got to him, and he joined Mana, their laughter filling the silence of the night.

"I think that is enough." Said a new voice coming from behind Yugi.

"Prince!" Mana too looked startled. "What are you doing here?"

" _Prowling._ " Came the dry reply.

Yugi gulped.

"I think both of you would want to say goodbye to the ones departing in the morning. If so, you should sleep. Preferably not in the garden." Mana rolled eyes at that, but she stood up.

"Come on, Yugi. Ryou would be really sad if you don't see him off, he is fond of you." She said, offering Yugi a hand to help him up.

"Likewise." Murmured Yugi, trying to avoid the prince's gaze.

"Goodnight, my prince!" Shouted Mana, dragging Yugi with her.

When they were inside the house, she let go of him and snickered.

"Of course he heard everything. I've never been able to complain about him to anyone, because he was always suddenly there." She explained.

"What is he doing in the garden anyway?" Grumbled Yugi.

"Oh, he is on watch. Since he prefers to sleep at day he takes the night watch so that the rest can sleep and everyone remains safe." They have reached the first floor. " Wake me up when you are up. I will probably sleep like rock and master is not going to wake me up anymore since he's got a new pupil." She said and waved at Yugi, going to her room. "Goodnight!"

"Goodnight." Answered Yugi quietly and went on to the second floor.

He stopped for a moment in front of mother's room. He listened for a moment, and when picked up the faint sound of Anzu's breathing, he sighed and went on to his room.

He fell asleep moments after his head touched the pillow.

/

Anzu woke up full of energy.

At first, she was startled to see Yugi missing. But then she remembered that they were not sharing a room now. They were the masters of the house.

And even if for a moment she wished for the closeness she felt whenever she and Yugi stayed together, she brushed off. The life goes on.

She went downstairs and saw that she was not the first one up.

In the kitchen at the table, sat two figures.

One of them was Mahad, looking as if he was staying awake only by the sheer power of his will.

The second was the prince, looking at the second man in a faint amusement.

"Good morning." She said, not sure if she was allowed to intrude on the men inside.

"Good morning, gracious hostess." Replied the prince and Mahad mumbled something akin.

"It always amazed me, how you could scold us whenever we overslept and look awake at that, when every morning you are worse than we've ever been." The prince mused and Mahad just sighed, as if not having any strength to argue.

"Maybe I shall prepare a tea for you? It helps me stay awake." Anzu proposed, moving towards the kettle.

"I would be obliged." Replied Mahad.

The three of them remained in silence and Anzu noticed that she was at ease.

The prince was here, and yet she did not feel nervous. In fact, she was grateful that the two guests were there. Even if the circumstances of their meeting were less than ideal, she was happy that the house was not empty.

It reminded her of the times when their mother was alive and held those wonderful parties. The house back then came alive, brimming with energy of many people, and now Anzu felt the same. Maybe she truly was her mother's daughter.

Now, when she thought of it, she never planned what she wanted to do when she was already free. Did she want to stay at the mansion? Did she want to leave it alongside her memories and just go on?

She looked at the table once again, stirring the tea she was preparing for Mahad.

Did she want to marry a prince and live happily ever after?

She was shaken out of her reverie by the arrival of Shada, Rishid and Ishizu, who looked not only awake, but also ready to action, since all of them were wearing their black armors, the same ones they had on them when they first arrived at the mansion.

Anzu sneaked a peek at Mahad.

He looked perfectly alert and composed.

The only indication that it was not so before, was the prince's smirk.

"Your Highness." Started Ishizu, and the prince turned to her, all amusement gone.

"Ishizu. Shada. Rishid." He replied and all of the addressed bowed their heads. "You plan to start on now?"

"Waiting would make the parting harder. We shall return in a month." Answered Ishizu and the prince nodded.

"But you should eat something before you go! Or at least take some provisions." Anzu did not notice the curious stare Mahad gave her.

"We thank you for your kindness, our gracious hostess. But everything was taken care of." Here, Rishid looked at the prince and bowed once again.

What did he mean by it?

The prince could not get any provisions for them during the night. What was going on? Were they only refusing the breakfast for the sake of it?

She looked at Shada, who was now speaking in a language Anzu did not know. But Mahad and the prince apparently did, for they answered him in the same manner. Shada nodded and left the kitchen with a last bow directed at Anzu.

How did they want to get to their destinations? If she heard correctly, they came by ship. They did not say anything about taking the horses from their stable, and even if they did, they could only take two. _What was going on?_

Ishizu also said something in the strange language Shada used before, and for the first time Anzu saw any feelings on woman's face. She was moved, for her voice wavered, but the determination in her eyes was fierce.

Anzu wondered what brought her to this place, to this prince. Now, she may never get a chance to ask.

"Goodbye, our gracious hostess." Said Ishizu, and Anzu bowed to her in return.

"Goodbye." Now, that was interesting. Almost everyone seemed to address Anzu as 'their gracious hostess' whereas they called Yugi by his name. Why? Was it because they considered her to be the head of the house? Because she was a woman? Or they simply liked Yugi better and formed their own relations with him behind Anzu's back?

She squashed that last thought almost instantly. She was not going to be jealous of Yugi's friendly attitude. He was her brother and no stranger could cause a rift between them.

Besides, Mana addressed her as Anzu.

Ishizu left alongside Rishid and the kitchen fell silent once again.

"It will be soon down to us again." Observed Mahad, drinking the tea Anzu finally handed him.

"I doubt it will be boring." Replied the prince, deep in thought.

"Can I help you, Your Highness? Tea?" She inquired, regretting not having asked before. She went against etiquette by addressing the advisor first, but for now, the prince didn't seem to mind.

"I must decline, yet thank you for asking." Came the answer, and Anzu did not know why she was feeling disappointed.

She started to prepare dishes for breakfast. Hopefully, the rest would eat something before leaving them.

Suddenly, she heard rushed steps on the stairs and before she could even guess who that was, the doors to the kitchen swung open, and in stormed Marik, his hair wild just like his eyes.

"Have they left?" He almost shouted, looking around.

"Yes, some time ago." Anzu answered, seeing than neither the prince, nor Mahad were going to.

All fight seemed to leave Marik's body.

"They have left..." He repeated, his words only a whisper.

"Your sister and your brother will be back soon." Offered Mahad, compassion lacing his voice.

"Yes, I know." Replied Marik and composed himself, straightening his back and turning to the table.

" My apologies for my haste behaviour, Your Highness. Good morning to you." Here, the prince nodded his head and focused his attention back on Mahad. " Good morning to you, Mahad, and to you, our gracious hostess."

"Good morning, Marik." And here it goes again. 'Gracious hostess'. "Would like to help me with the dishes? Or are you going to leave immediately?"

"I would be delighted to help." And that was a final proof that Marik did not feel well. True, Anzu knew him for a short time, but she knew Marik was not the one to stick to the manners. He sometimes swore and was generally more sarcastic and mean than polite. Apparently being left by Rishid and Ishizu was hard for him.

Anzu felt compassion for the blond boy as he took the plates from her and carried them to the dining room.

She would probably be as broken if she was to part with Yugi without a goodbye.

Would she have to part with Yugi someday?

They were now a part of a dangerous game and many things could happen. And when it was all over, provided that they will succeed, what will happen then? Will they both stay here trying to deal with what happened and jumping at the ghosts of the house, or will they both leave looking for the fortune elsewhere? Or maybe, just maybe, for their support, they will be invited to the court?

Suddenly Anzu was blinded with too many options that the arrival of their guests opened.

"Good morning." Anzu turned. A very sleepy Ryou was standing in the door. " Can I help?" Anzu nodded and handed Ryou a plate with eggs. Now, who's picked them? She was supposed to do so, since she woke up first, but the presence of others sidetracked her. And she was so deep in her thoughts that the eggs slipped her mind. And yet, here they were. She even prepared them just a moment ago, without thinking where did they come from.

Considering the state Mahad had been in when she entered the kitchen, she doubted it could be him. So... The prince?

That was...kind of him.

She opened her mouth to ask him about it, but thought better of it.

Still, she felt some kind of warmness in her heart.

/

As if on cue, when Anzu, Marik and Ryou finished setting the table they were joined by Joey and Serenity.

The prince and Mahad, now conversing quietly moved to the dining room and took their places, greeting the new arrivals.

Anzu decided it was high time to wake Yugi, when Mai entered the dining room, yawning and stretching.

Since Anzu sat next to Joey she did not miss the way his eyes followed Mai's every move. _Oh_.

"Mana and Yugi are on their way. I passed them arguing over something on my way down." She said and sat on a place previously belonging to Ishizu. For a second Marik looked as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, remained silent.

"... and if it wasn't for your questions, I would have gone to sleep earlier!"That was Mana. She entered the room hand in hand with Yugi, both of them looking as bad as Mahad did the second Anzu saw him today. When they were passing the prince's seat, Anzu noticed the slight smirk on man's lips. It disappeared as soon as Mana sat on his left, face to face with her master. 

"Well, since everybody is here... Enjoy your meal!" Anzu said and was relieved when no one spared her a glance. She was still unsure of how to behave with royalty, when she was permitted to talk and when not, so this lack of attention she decided, was a good sign.

Yugi sat down next to her.

" Not enough sleep?" She teased, reveling in the glare her brother gave her.

"I was caught up late talking with Mana." He explained, giving Mana a fleeting glare. The girl noticed it and stuck a tongue at him. It was so childish that it made Anzu laugh. She almost forgot that both Mana and Yugi were younger than her, mostly because the previous happenings gave them no opportunity to behave their age. And Yugi in his sixteen years had too little time to behave as a child, so she didn't fault him for that.

"Talking with Mana, huh?" Came Joey's voice, and Anzu turned towards him, so she could see the way he wiggled his eyebrows.

Yugi just rolled his eyes.

The rest of the breakfast was a pleasant affair, even though the absence of three of them did not go unnoticed, especially when looking at Marik's mood.

When everyone was done with their food, the prince stood up.

As always, all conversations died out.

"I have nothing more to say than what I said yesterday. All I can do is wish you luck and give you my blessing." At that, Marik, Mana and Mahad stood up. The rest of them, not sure of what was going to happen, followed the suit.

Everyone closed their eyes, so Anzu did the same.

Prince's low, powerful voice washed over her, and even though she did not understand the words, for they were once again spoken in that foreign language, she felt their power. It was as if a god truly came to them and gave them might and purpose.

"I will be expecting you in a month. Except for Joey, I hope you will be here sooner." At that, Anzu opened her eyes. She looked to her friends and saw them as shaken by the blessing as she was. She felt the shiver running up her spine.

Marik bowed to the prince.

"I will see you all soon. Thank you for hospitality." Said Marik, bowing now to Yugi and Anzu. They returned the gesture and when he was ready to turn, Yugi waved at him. Marik looked surprised for a moment, but he waved back.

Ryou soon followed him, but he actually came to shake everyone's hand, even the prince's.

"Wish me luck!" He said cheerfully and left the house. Anzu still didn't know how they were supposed to get to where they were ordered to go.

It was now Joey's turn.

"So, I guess my bigger cause calls." He started, but was silenced by Serenity hugging him.

"Come back, brother." She whispered, but her voice did not quiver. Anzu admired the girl's determination.

"I will." And that was their old, self-confident Joey with his bright smile on his face.

"We will miss you." Said Yugi as he hugged Joey and Anzu could jus nod in agreement.

"And do be careful." She added, as an afterthought. Joey just grinned. He turned to Mai. She just winked at him.

"See you around." She said, and apparently for Joey that was enough.

When he was ready to leave the room, the prince stood up as well.

Joey looked lost for a moment, but accompanied the prince outside.

"I think we forgot to ask. We will need to borrow one of your horses." Said Mahad suddenly, as if trying to get everybody's attention off the two men that left the room.

"That is no problem, as long as it returns." Anzu replied, trying to catch whatever the men were saying. Unfortunately, they were too far.

"I will do the cleaning!" Offered Mana.

"You will do no such thing, honey. It is my turn." Said Mai, and that was it.

"Besides, you need to go with me, if you remember." Interceded Mahad, and Mana simply nodded.

"I think we shall meet at noon," He said, addressing now Serenity and them. " so that I can explain what I'd like you to learn."

They just nodded, too confused to argue.

/

When Yugi left the dining room, Joey was long gone. He knew, because he heard the horse ride away.

Once again, he did not know what to do with time. He could always go to the stables and make sure their last remaining horse was in a good shape, but that was it. Mai refused any help at cleaning the dining room, and Yugi decided not to argue.

When he was debating what to do, he spotted a figure on the stairs.

The prince.

Once again, Yugi didn't see him eat anything.

He decided to follow the man and ask him whether he wanted something for later, but was interrupted by his sister.

"It's been a while since we were so useless, don't you think?" She joked, and Yugi laughed.

"True. What do we plan to do now?" Now, he had time to just be with his sister. He should not worry himself over a grown man not eating. Even if he was wounded. Oh, right, the bandages! He had used all they had yesterday. " We could go to town." He proposed, and Anzu paused for a moment.

"We... Could. We actually could." She mused, as if the idea was novel to her. Since Yugi was the one usually doing the shopping, it probably was.

"And we could buy some treats for ourselves." Yugi continued, reveling in this new-found freedom. Arkana was not poor, neither were their parents. And now, the whole fortune was theirs.

"But someone must go with us." Anzu reminded.

"Give me a moment, and I can go." Came Mai's voice from the dining room. Of course, everyone here was eavesdropping. Good thing it wasn't the prince this time.

It was settled. They were going to town!

/

Yugi did not remember Anzu so happy before.

The four of them, since Serenity went along, traveled around the Domino town noticing it truly for the first time.

Since they journey was not target-oriented, especially since the first thing they did was go to the apothecary and get bandages, they investigated every shop on their way, talking with every owner that seemed willing to chat.

It was exhilarating.

"I've always wanted to buy a new dress here, I heard it is the best tailor ever!" Shouted Anzu, excited as never before.

A bulb of happiness entered Yugi's heart.

He loved seeing his sister happy.

"What is stopping you? I myself would like a new one. What about you, Serenity?"

"It might be nice." The girl offered, clearly just happy at the perspective of shopping with company, not buying a new dress. Mai and Anzu were probably the first women to enter Serenity's life in a while. Serenity and Joey's mother was dead for many years and their father left them soon after Joey turned sixteen. Since he was not of age yet, people still referred to him as 'hunter's son', as if Joey's father was ever coming back.

Yugi never thought about it, but both Joey and Serenity must have felt lonely. True, they had each other, like Anzu and Yugi had each other, but at least Serenity due to her blindness was almost constantly alone at home. No wonder both of them accepted the knights so readily and joined their fight.

The knights gave them what the wanted- somewhere to belong.

"I will go..." Yugi started, hoping to give the women their 'girl time' and escape the perspective of watching them try on dresses for gods know how long.

"...with us, Yugi. Remember, we must stick together!" Sing-sung Mai as she pushed him inside the tailor's.

Thankfully, it didn't take too long. Even though excited, Anzu usually knew immediately what she wanted and after trying on three or four dresses, she made her choice.

Serenity relied on Anzu and Mai's opinion, since she herself could not see the sight she made in each dress, therefore her fitting took much longer mostly because Mai and Anzu clearly had too much fun making her try on different dresses and commenting on her beauty.

Yugi could not disagree with their comments, but he was growing tired of this shop.

Nevertheless, it was nice to see the three of them just have fun, as if they were not planning on risking their lives and lives of other people for the sake of one man who decided to be king. Not that Yugi had any right to judge, because he himself made up his mind. He was with them.

Finally, Mai picked some purple and black dress that Anzu was impressed with, and Yugi was allowed outside.

"Now it is your turn to drag us somewhere we really don't want to go." Anzu joked, and Yugi smirked.

"You bet! " _Wait.. Bet_. He could visit this game shop he always passed on his way to the grocer's!

He led the girls along, and soon enough they were inside.

"Good morning!" He shouted, his excitement now visible.

"Good morning." Answered the old man behind the counter. "Looking for something specific?" Yugi thought for a moment. He remembered the puzzles he solved in his childhood, when father would bring them to him as gifts from his voyages. But the drawback of puzzles was that they were solitary. Now, at least for now, he had other people he could share time with.

"Do you have something that would entertain many people?" He asked. Anzu and Serenity were whispering furiously about something, and Yugi noticed them bent over some fortune-telling cards. Cards!

"Do you have any cards?" He corrected. The man's smile widened.

"I have. How many decks do you wish for?" Yugi pondered on the question for a moment. They had seven people at mansion now.

"Two?" The man nodded and disappeared behind a counter for a moment.

He resurfaced with four decks of cards.

"Choose whichever you like." Yugi looked at the decks. They were the same, the only differences were the pictures on them. Some showed kings and queens of some foreign countries. Some reminded Yugi of that fortune-telling ones.

"This one looks nice." Mai commented and pointed at one deck. The pictures on that one were full of mythical creatures from all over the world. One queen was a Harpy, the second one an Amazon Warrior. One king was a Dragon, the second - a Chimera. Yugi looked through the deck and instantly agreed with Mai. It was a strange set of cards, but it looked hand-drawn and was simply beautiful. That, and it one of a kind.

"So I will take this one, for sure. Now, for the other one..." He looked through the rest of decks. Compared with the one he had already chosen, they were nothing special.

The old man was still searching for something. Yugi was ready to give up and pick one of the dull ones, when the man suddenly shouted. " There it is!"

Everyone looked in his direction.

"I thought that since you picked the mythical one, you would like something similar. This one is straight from the capital! It is quite old, no one wanted to buy it, but maybe you will like it." He said and put the deck on the counter.

The Ace on the top of the deck looked like a falcon dressed in a crown. Yugi opened his mouth to ask about the picture, but then he saw the rest of the falcon's body. It was a body of a man.

 _We at the Centre believe in many gods and some of them have bodies of half-animal and half-human..._

 _The prince himself gave the falcon the head of the vulture..._

"I'll take it."


	6. Chapter 6

First of all, some Author's notes:

1\. Thank you all for your lovely comments, you keep me going! Honestly, even if I don't reply to some of them, I read them all and treasure them, so thank you!

chapter is also concerned more with relationships between the group than the relationship between Yugi and the prince, but trust me, we are getting there. Next chapter is darker and more puzzeshipping-oriented, but this one is not irreleveant. There are some clues and foreshadowings here, and I will need them later in the story

3\. I am taking great liberties with blue lotus, it is from Egypt and it has a strong smell, yet none of the features dicrabed here. Treat it as licentia poetica ;-)

4\. Drinking game: Drink every time you spot 'cards'

Enjoy!

Yugi was entranced all of the way back home, looking through his decks of those strange looking cards.

Not that Anzu could blame him, even though she did not see the appeal. Those were just cards. Yet, Yugi could probably say the same about her dress. So as long as it made him happy...

Noon was drawing closer and closer, therefore they whole group was headed back home.

Strange, how easily the word 'home' became associated with Mai and Serenity... Anzu was sure that if they decided to stay at the palace, she would miss both of them dearly.

Not that Yugi was not enough, he was the most precious person in her life and he forever will be, no matter who else Anzu may meet. It was simply nice to share some of her thoughts and experiences with someone who was a girl. She could ask Mai about parties and fashion in foreign lands, she could discuss with Serenity their favourite lullabies and strange quirks of brothers. She was not alone with Yugi, but now, she was learning how to be in a group.

Maybe she was naive, considering the bonds that started to form between her, Yugi, and the knights as friendship, but she deeply wished that she was not wrong. She wanted friends. She never thought about it before, but now... Now she would defend these people with her life. They brought joy and novelty, and they seemed to actually care, despite the circumstances.

It was a good thought.

Their way back home was uninterrupted, aside from the fact that Serenity had gained a new admirer. Tristan, the blacksmith followed her throughout all of the market, which made Anzu giggle.

She could not remember the last time she _giggled_.

Carrying their purchases and some vegetables they bought along the way, the four of them made their way home, listening to Serenity sing some song.

When they arrived at the mansion, they were greeted by a blonde girl waving at them.

It took Anzu few moments to understand it was Mana.

"Hey, you didn't wait for me!" Wailed the girl. They stared at her. Her tan skin was gone. She looked pale, and her hair was blonde instead of brown.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Mana asked, twirling around as if to show off her dress.

"Mahad is skilled." Commented Mai, clearly impressed. " What did he do?"

"You look lovely!" Anzu interrupted, fully aware that she will forget to do it when Mana starts answering.

The girl blushed in delight and chuckled.

It was great, to just compliment people, to be nice without a fear of rejection or punishment.

"Thank you! It is hard to maintain though, so I won't be leaving the mansion much." Here Mana shrugged." But hey, at least if anyone finds us here it will be no longer my fault!"

"True. But you didn't answer Mai's question" Serenity pointed out good-naturedly. She couldn't see how Mana changed, Anzu realized, and almost cursed herself for forgetting. But, talking with Serenity and spending time with her was so easy, so care-free, and Serenity was so high-spirited, that the fact that she could not see the world she was so amazed with was easy to overlook.

"Well, the blond hair is some kind of mixture, Master refused to tell me what's in it, but judging from the smell some herbs for sure, and something else... Nevertheless, it must be applied once a month, so that my real color doesn't show. As for the light skin, it is awful to wear." Here, she looked in panic at people in front of her. "Not the color of course, no offence! Just the ointment is very heavy. I feel as if I'm wearing tones of paint and powder. It will probably fall off me if I laugh to hard." She complained, and took a bag from Serenity.

"And what did you do in the town?" While Mai and Serenity answered her, Anzu came to stand next to Yugi.

"Feels better with them in it, am I right?" She asked, observing Yugi's thoughtful gaze upon the house.

He smiled at her.

"It does. I know I shouldn't, and it is probably not wise, but I want them to stay here, when it is all done. Sure, I won't be exactly missing Ishizu or Rishid, because truly, I do not know them that well, but the people here, and Ryou, and Marik... I will miss them very much when they are gone."

"Yes, me too..." She agreed, and she was struck with a sudden thought. Did that include the prince? That shadowy, brutal person that saved them and now protected them? Strangely, it did.

"Maybe they will visit us. Maybe we will be allowed to visit them." Yugi mused, still looking at his cards. " Even if not, some things will stay with us, like these cards. Mai helped me in picking them. Same with your dress - whenever you look at it, memories of our trip with Serenity and Mai will go with it."

 _I think you yearn for friendship even stronger than I do._ Anzu thought with fondness. She wanted to ask about the second deck, the one with strange, half-human creatures, but decided against it. The pictures meant something for Yugi, and if he decided not to tell her, it was his right to do so. He was growing up, she noticed, and not in a physical sense. Yugi was never stupid, or less anything than people his age, but with people here, he seemed to change, to discover some aspects of his personality, that were hidden before. And that was good.

"You are right. I wonder what type of training Mahad prepared for Serenity." Yugi's face told her, that he knew something she didn't.

"Maybe, if we are nice, they will let us watch." He answered with a smile and entered the house.

Anzu just sighed.

She went to her room to leave her purchases on the bed to deal with them later.

Looking around this whole space made her realize, how quickly she had accustomed to the new order of things. Arkana was deep in the past, with so much going on, as if he died years ago, instead of days.

And now, Anzu had the whole house at her disposal, guests to feed and friends to share company, and she briefly wondered, if the Anzu from year before would recognize herself in Anzu now. Maybe she was growing up and changing as well?

With a smile on her face, she left the room, ready to prepare some light lunch for everybody to enjoy during the 'training', whatever that was supposed to be.

Some movement on her right caught her eye. It looked like somebody was entering the prince's room.

Not sure of what to do, Anzu stayed rooted in place, wondering whether to check who that was, or let the prince alone. It was daytime, so he probably was in his room. Maybe it was somebody from the house? Maybe it was an assassin, ready to take the life of man who changed Anzu's fate? At that thought, her blood ran cold.

With a start she rushed to the door, ready to protect, to shout if needed, but before she reached the door, they opened in front of her and Yugi came out.

"I brought him something for lunch. In case he wakes up and feels hungry." He explained and Anzu let out a deep sigh.

She was changing.

In that one moment, from Cinderella she was ready to change into a warrior.

/

Mana's assumption regarding Serenity's training proved to be right.

With all of them seated in the garden, Mahad brought different plants for Serenity to recognize by scent and structure, some poisons which ways of acquisition he refused to share and which he mixed with wine and water and taught Serenity ways of telling them apart.

"What about this one?" He encouraged, giving the girl yet another cup full of wine. If Yugi hadn't seen that he indeed poured something in it, he would proclaim that it was a mere wine. It looked the same and from where he was sitting on the grass, it smelled the same as well.

"I don't know if I am assured by knowledge that he was carrying these poisons with him all the way here. " Whispered Mai, earning herself a glare from Mana.

"He is not going to poison any of us."She said proudly, shaking her new, golden hair.

If Yugi was to be honest, he preferred Mana in her previous version.

"But he is going to poison someone?"Mai pressed, and edge of amusement evident in her voice. Mana seemed not to notice it, because she was ready to take offence. She opened her mouth to say something, but thankfully, noticed Mai's teasing grin, and calmed down.

"You are a terrible, terrible woman." She gritted out, but there was no bite to it.

Anzu, sitting next to Yugi laughed and looked at him, as if they were sharing some kind of secret. Yugi went back to their previous conversation about the knights.

Maybe they did share a secret.

That they were unwisely attached to this dangerous bunch.

"It smells like wine, but... there is something... A small dose of...a flower?... I do not recognize the scent." Serenity finally said.

"Very good. I did not count on you recognizing the flower, it is blue lotus, mostly growing back in the capital. " Mahad truly looked proud. Yugi risked a glance in Mana's direction. She was watching her former Master intently, as if waiting for him to compare Serenity's skill to hers. But she was not crying, nor was she glaringly upset. She looked pensive.

"Is it poisonous?" At Serenity's question, Mahad smiled

"No, far from it. It is used as a remedy in many diseases. It cannot cure, but it eases the pain. It is worth remembering, because if you smell it in somebody's cup it means that person is ill, or in pain. And that...?"

"May be useful if we want to know something about the health condition of person in front of us." Serenity answered, her voice weak and uncertain, almost asking.

"Yes. Big doses of it can put a person in a dream-like state for some time, that's why even if it cannot kill you directly, it can be still used against you."

They sat like that for some time, watching and commenting many things Mahad explained to his new pupil.

Yugi always assumed that Mahad was wise, but only then he could see that 'wise' might be an understatement. The man seemed to remember things he learned not only in capital, but also along the way, describing plants and medicaments he had encountered on their way.

From what Mahad said Yugi could observe that since the prince returned, Mahad had accompanied him through at least three countries. In one of them they must have encountered Mai, for at some point she started arguing with Mahad about the usage of roses that apparently were native to her homeland.

"Well, I think that is enough of wisdom for now. " Mai concluded and to Yugi's amazement, Mahad agreed.

"Indeed. Time for sword masters." He said and sat down on the grass, asking Serenity to join him.

"What sword masters?" Anzu asked, but Yugi did not reply. He had a bad feeling about what both of them implied.

"That means you, hon." Mai said, winking at Anzu and Yugi and gesturing them to stand up.

"We are not going to make you into knights, so don't even think about starting in tournaments. But we will try to teach you basics so you don't get murdered by the first dumbass who thinks he can handle a sword."

Yugi gulped.

"But we do not have weapons?" _Nice try, Anzu_.

Mana approached them, giving them two wooden sticks.

"We had to sacrifice your rakes for them, but it is better than nothing. " She said with a smile. " Anzu, you are my partner!" She added cheerfully.

So that left Yugi with Mai. He was not so sure whether he got better end of the deal.

"Lesson number one. There is no fair play." And with that, Mai kicked him in shin.

With a shout, Yugi went down.

/

The dinner was prepared by Mahad and Mana, because Anzu and Yugi were too hurting to actually move. Those books talking about young village boys becoming knights in one day? Lies.

Yugi could not find one spot that was not tender to touch, and as he talked with Anzu on their way to their rooms, she felt the same.

Climbing the stairs was an awful experience Yugi did not want to repeat anytime soon. It wasn't that Mana and Mai were deliberately hurting them, they were just treating their task seriously. No enemy would ask patiently for you to stand up and find the weapon you lost seconds ago.

Yugi even suspected that there were moments where Mai could strike him really painfully and yet didn't, but he was too sore to appreciate it at the moment.

Yugi was used to bruises, but even though he still found no pleasure in them, these ones did not make him cry. They were necessary for him to learn, and he agreed to receive them. He did not like them, but they were the results of a training, something he did for his own good and not of madness of one man.

Maybe, when they stop bothering him, he will be even proud of them.

And truly, they were not that bad. He just became unused to pain during these few days.

When he finally convinced himself to move, he met Anzu on her ways to stairs. Or, probably on her way, because at the moment she was simply glaring at them, as if they were the ones that hurt her.

"Together?" He offered quietly, extending his arm. Anzu smiled and nodded, accepting his hand.

"I know they want to help, but at the moment, I'm contemplating making use of Mahad's poisons."Anzu muttered darkly, and Yugi laughed.

"We will be tough when they are finished with us." He defended.

"Or when I am finished with them. And with that blond hair she looked so nice! That devil!" Yugi understood that Anzu meant Mana. He did not have time to observe how Anzu was faring, for he was literally biting the dust half of the time. Apparently Mana did not go easy even on another girl.

Complaining and joking, they have reached the dining room and joined the rest.

"I tried my best, but I will never cook as good as you..." Mana started and was silenced with Anzu's murderous gaze.

"Flattery won't get you anywhere." Anzu threatened, but soon she was bantering with her tutor, while Yugi took his usual place at the table. He looked for a moment at Joey's empty place and felt a pang of sadness.

Serenity who sat on Joey's other side was also quiet for a while.

"... I aided her, so there is a good chance it is almost edible." That was Mahad. Anzu laughed and sat down next to Yugi.

Mai, as if noticing Yugi's and Serenity's silence, sat down between them, taking Joey's place.

"When he comes back, he can fight me for it." She said. So she was worried for him as well.

"I hope you will like it!" Mana shouted, looking around, anxious to help anyone to anything that was set on the table.

"If you were cooking, Mana, then I am almost sure this meal will determine our fates." Came the voice from the corridor. The prince entered the room without any preamble and sat down on his chair.

Now when Yugi thought about it, the plate for him was set from the beginning. So Mahad or Mana knew that he was coming.

"Yes, it will determine us dead." Mahad joked, and everybody started their meal.

The chicken was not half-bad, even if it was lacking herbs Anzu usually added, but all in all it was pretty good. Yugi wondered, what the prince and Mahad had in mind when they were teasing the girl, after all she did good... And then he tried the vegetables.

He looked for help in Anzu's direction, but she seemed to have the same problem.

"What did you put in it?" Demanded Mahad, smile gone from his face.

"What you told me!" Yugi, drinking the wine set in front of him as if his life depended on it, risked a look at the prince. Both him and Mai were smirking now, their plates devoid of any vegetables.

"I told you to add fern, not nettle!" Mahad hissed, also looking for salvation in his cup.

Mana looked ready to cry.

Now, when everybody knew that vegetables were to be avoided, the dinner went on, disturbed only by Mana's profuse apologizing.

"We are not being assassinated at the moment, and we have survived Mana's cooking. What shall we do with such a lovely day?" Asked the prince after the meals was over and dissolved into chatter.

For a moment, everyone was silent.

And Yugi was battling with his thoughts.

He bought the cards especially for this reason. He was waiting for this moment, hoping to have everyone involved in a game. But will the prince...?

That was the question. He trusted the man, and to his great confusion counted him as someone he will miss after all of this was over, and yet, there was some kind of barrier, one that Yugi did not feel when interacting with the rest.

It wasn't fear anymore, but what was it?

Yugi didn't know.

"We could play a card game." He finally said, and looked at the prince's face, waiting for reaction. His answer was the most important, it was him who would decide... But at the same time, he wanted the prince to simply want to play cards. He wanted to share his passion...

There was a glint in prince's eyes, and it wasn't anger.

"A card game?" The man said, as if tasting the words on his tongue. Yugi noticed, that he was not the only one observing the prince. Mahad was staring as well, waiting for an answer. 'Wonderful."

Yugi couldn't fight the smile that spread on his face.

"Mai? Mana? Anzu?" Only then Yugi understood his mistake... Serenity could not play. He was awful, and egoistic and...

"I don't like card games, you know me." Anzu answered." Come, Serenity, maybe we could go for a walk?" The girl nodded and took Anzu's hand. " I wish you pleasant evening." Anzu said, and bowed to the prince as both girls left the room.

"And I wish you one as well." The prince answered, and Yugi noticed the surprise on Anzu's face before she disappeared behind the door.

"What shall we play then?" The prince's tone changed immediately, now he sounded like a very self-assured predator.

"Oh, that reminds me. We do not like playing games with him." Mana complained, and Mahad laughed.

"Do we have a choice?" He asked, putting on a fake long-suffering sigh.

"You always have." Said the prince, his voice speaking different story. But there was no dangerous edge to it, it sounded almost like a banter.

"I do have a choice. And I will get back at Your Highness for that poker night!" Mai said proudly.

The prince's smirk widened.

"Is that so?"

Yugi gulped.

"I will get the cards!" He said, and left for his room. All of the pain from the day gone in a rush of excitement. He had someone to play with!

He stormed into his room and grabbed the monster deck, the one he chose with Mai, but on a second thought, he grabbed the second one as well. Just in case.

He just hoped they will teach him how to play poker before they eat him alive.

/

He was winning.

He was actually winning!

Right, almost winning, because the prince was winning even more, but Yugi will not let it deter him.

After a while they started betting, small amounts of money, but Mahad and Mana were already broke and only Mai struggled barely, most of her money either on Yugi's or prince's hoard.

"You are just vengeful!" Mai accused, pointing at Yugi.

"Not at all." He answered, not bothering with hiding his grin.

"I think that's enough for today. Mana is almost crying." Said Mahad, looking at his disciple fondly. Mana did not notice it, because he was wailing with her forehead pressed to the table's surface.

"As you wish." The prince said, his smirk even wider than before. The aura of smugness was almost visible around him, and for the first time Yugi noticed that the prince was indeed young. Older than him, true, but still young.

"I will defeat you. Just you wait." Mai muttered and stood up.

"I am waiting." Came the smug reply, and Mai left the room.

Mana jumped to her feet and dragged Mahad with her. "I told you, we don't like playing with him." For a moment, Yugi was sure she will stick her tongue at the prince. But she settled to grace Yugi with that sign of affection. " You are sooo training with me tomorrow." She threatened and alongside her master, left the room.

Yugi was left with the prince.

"You have some skill." The prince said, gathering his cards and winnings.

"Thank you, Your Highness. It is nothing compared with yours."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Yugi stared. _Was he just... Did he just?_

"Very interesting deck. I like it. Where did you find it?" This comment made Yugi jump in excitement.

"In a game shop in the town. We bought it today, Mai helped me choose."

"Unique taste." The prince mused.

Yugi's hand stopped on his second deck. He could show it to the prince. He did buy it with prince in mind, didn't he?

"I bought another one." He said quietly.

"Oh?" A polite inquiry. Yugi stepped closer.

"It is somehow even stranger." He said, and put the cards in prince's outstretched hand.

For a moment, the prince was silent, and Yugi, now paralyzed with some kind of fear, did not dare to look down, at the still sitting prince.

"Those are..." That brought his mind back to the man.

The red eyes were looking at him in a way he never saw before. As if he, Yugi, was something worthy of such a gaze, a gaze of... what exactly? Joy? Gratitude? Adoration?

Yugi's heart sped up.

"They are from my home." Said the prince and smiled.

For the first time.

He smiled.

A radiant, genuine smile.

And Yugi was standing there, speechless, with a final proof of his obsession with the prince laying on the man's hand, and all he could think about was the beauty of that smile.

Yugi was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

This one is longer than previous ones, but I really couldn't wait to write the last dialogue and decided to fit it into the 7th instead of 8th chapter.

Few notes: I decided not to explain rules of bridge and not go into the details of deals, because the chapter is long enough without adding to it eight paragraphs about who had which card.

Thousand is a game very popular in Poland and other Eastern Europe countires and is one of the games that are interesting and can be played with only two people. If you want, google it, but it is not overly important to the plot.

Warning: People die when we kill them.

Enjoy!

Anzu didn't even notice, but the guests were here a week now.

And they have stopped being guests long time ago.

If somebody had asked her that one week ago, she would never presume that she will get used to waking up every morning in her own room, to guiding Serenity down the stairs to the kitchen , to talking with her while preparing the meal for the rest of the inhabitants.

She would never presume that she will be joking with Yugi about who should clean the stables only to have Mana volunteer. That she will be treated with respect and kindness by people she feared when she had first met them.

Now, they have created some kind of a routine.

Mornings were busy- people, aside from the prince who was very persistently nocturnal, came down in different states of disarray, either trying to help her with breakfast, or trying to eat something while she wasn't looking.

The trips to the town were no longer the only way of escaping the house, but became a pleasurable and social occasion. Anzu and Yugi usually went to get groceries accompanied by Mai and Serenity, sometimes by Mahad.

Yesterday, Mana was finally allowed outside and was practically bouncing with energy.

After the shopping came the time for training.

First was Serenity's, the one that Anzu and Yuugi loved to observe. Anzu even started bringing a notebook with her and noting down most interesting plants and poisons, alongside their antidotes. Considering the lives they were living now, it might prove to be crucial someday. Serenity was a very dedicated student and took her studies very seriously. She had a perfect sense of smell and a very good hearing, but she had troubles with estimating the number of people approaching. She heard noises from great distances, but had trouble with distinguishing, whether it was just Mana, or Mana and a horse, or Mana and Yuugi.

Still, she made progress and Mahad was proud of her. Even Mana seemed to be impressed, even though she still got that vacant look in her eyes whenever Mahad praised Serenity.

The most memorable was the lesson concerned with many types of beverages. Mai and Mahad went to town on their own and brought back plenty of bottles, ones that Anzu had never seen before. This time, all of them were included in the lesson, tasting the beverages and trying to guess which was which. By the end of the lesson everyone was laughing happily at nothing and everything, Mana was even singing something in this strange language only people from capital knew. When they were sure it was the end, Mahad gave every single one of them a cup, himself taking one as well.

"In one of the cups I have poured poison. Your friends are now under the influence, they would have troubles finding it sober, when drunk there is no chance they could. Can you save them?" He asked Serenity and everyone looked at their cups." In a minute I will ask you to drink from your cup. Obey." He said, and that was it.

Shivering, Serenity made her way from one person to another, taking cups they handed her and smelling them, and Anzu still remembered the dread she felt. Was it in her cup? In Yugi's? Mahad would not let them die, that she was sure of, but...

"The time is up." Mahad said. Serenity was half-way done, stopping at Anzu before she could check her cup. " Where is the poison?"

"I don't know. It's not in the first three I've checked..." That meant that Mai, Mana and Yuugi were safe. But that left Anzu. Mahad and Serenity...

"Think." Mahad's voice was cold, but not hostile. " And do it fast, they will have to drink it in a moment."

"It's either in mine, or in yours." Serenity said, and Anzu felt a shiver run down her spine.

"Why do you think so?"

"Because the cups were here before. We all were sitting here in the same order. I was sitting next to you. I did not hear you move from the place you were sitting in, so you could have put the poison in the cups nearest to you- yours, or mine." Answered Serenity after a while. Even though her voice was confident, her body betrayed her fear.

"Very good." At that, Serenity sighed, and Anzu could not help, but follow her. It was not her lesson, but at the same time, it was - it reminded her, that what they wanted to do was dangerous and they could not afford to let their guards down. It was not an exercise for smelling, it was an exercise in paying attention to your surroundings. All of them could use it apparently, for they weren't blind, and yet Anzu didn't see Mahad pouring anything into any cup.

"But, not enough. " Mahad continued." If you have listened harder, you would know that I haven't moved at all. There was no poison to begin with."

"Good thing we are on their side, right?" Yugi whispered to Anzu, and she nodded her head. True, she didn;t see Mahad pouring anything, but she could with conviction say that. She simply wasn't paying attention. Sure, she was light-headed with alcohol, but that was no excuse. She had to be more careful. They all had to.

It was a lesson that remained with her for a long time.

After Serenity's training and a short lunch during which Yugi would go and bring some food to the prince's room, there came time for Anzu and Yugi's part of the training. Mana and Mai often switched their 'pupils', so that both could get used to different types of fighting.

Mai's strikes were strong and precise and her reaction to attack was fast. She had good defense, but all in all, after some time, Anzu noticed that her moves were predictable. Not that she had the skill to counter them, but at least she was making some progress, she was able to analyze the strategy.

Mana on the other hand was unpredictable. She was swift and agile, very fast at dodging attacks and countering them from different positions. She could seemingly disappear in a blink of an eye and attack her opponent's back. Her attacks were not as powerful, but they were efficient enough. While Mai brought her adversaries to their knees with exhaustion, Mana was skilled at disarming them.

Anzu and Yugi were still covered with bruises after their training sessions, but the bruises were fewer with time and they were getting better at giving back as good as they got. Yugi's fighting style, if Anzu could say anything about style at their level of fighting, resembled that of Mana's. He was handling Mai better than Mana, while Anzu had better results in fighting Mana than in fighting Mai. Though Anzu's forte was apparently dodging, not attacking, but at least she was capable of not dying with the first strike of a sword.

After training everyone got an hour or so for themselves. Anzu usually went to the bathroom to ease aching muscles and then to the bed to read for some time. With these sudden free hours she went back to reading with enthusiasm, revisiting the books of her childhood and browsing through her mother's.

When she went down to the kitchen she prepared dinner, usually with Yugi, or Mai. Mana often offered to help, but for obvious reasons, Anzu politely refused her help. Wanting to be useful, Mana became the care-taker of animals, going to hens for eggs or cleaning the stables and feeding Dragon, the one horse that was left.

At dinner everyone, including the prince, went down to the dining room and shared the meal, either talking about the past, or discussing future plans.

The reports started to reach the mansion, the one from Joey being the first. Joey wrote that he had found the land of the duke and was now trying to find a way to the court, that the duke was possibly a bastard in more than one meaning of the word, and that he missed Serenity very much.

The reports from Ishizu, Marik and Ryou followed, and the prince usually just summarized their contents, leaving some information to himself and Mahad.

Rishid and Shada were apparently in lands further away, because their reports were last ones to arrive. The overall situation was that everything was going according to plan.

Now, that Anzu and Yugi were part of it too, they learned that some of the knights were sent to different parts of the country to gather troops, to convince people and soldiers to follow the prince who had returned. Rishid and Shada were the most successful at the moment, because their lands were the ones who suffered the most with the change of the ruler. South and West were once great, flourishing parts, so the king had increased taxes from them, fully aware that they were able to afford them. He did not take into consideration, that by crowning himself he lost country's biggest ally - his sister, aunt of the Mad Prince and her son, current king of Arcadia and prince's cousin, not believing in the suicide of their kin, refused to sustain the alliance between the two countries and the trade with Arcadia stopped. South and West, the biggest exporters of crops and fruit were left with nothing.

Ishizu had bigger problems with East. Here people did not care much about the king or anything, too concerned with their little civil battles and wars. Still, she managed to convince some local lords to join the prince's cause and she promised to conquer the West if she had to. And Anzu believed her, Mahad seemed too.

Ryou managed to squirm his way into Lord Crawford's court, supplying the prince with information about Northern Tyrant's plans and state of knowledge about prince's whereabouts. According to Ryou, Crawford already knew that the prince was here, ever since Panic did not return, but was unsure in which part of the North the prince was hiding. Ryou warned them to be very careful about any new faces around the town.

Marik's report was more optimistic- Crawford apparently believed in dealing with problems on his own, for he had not informed the king about his suspicions.

"If we take down Crawford, the North will follow." Said the prince after reading Marik's report." And then it will be too late for Aknadin to react. Crawford is the most feared lord in the country. Whoever defeats him will take his place and loyalty of people. Without Crawford, Aknadin will be nothing more than an old man with no power to his name." Prince's smile that appeared after this sentence reminded Anzu on her first encounter with the man, when she truly believed him to be mad.

"First we must stir the trouble with duke. Without Devlin's support Crawford will be an easy prey." Mahad pointed out, and the prince nodded." Duke has one weakness. He hates me. Just like Crawford he will try to take me down on his own. And that will be his downfall."

And Anzu didn't even doubt it.

Usually after dinner, Mana and Yugi would clean up and the knights would sit down to play cards. Since she still did not see the appeal and felt bad about leaving Serenity out, she usually took the younger girl for a walk or just to her room to talk or read- Serenity enjoyed listening to the stories Anzu read out loud to her and she seemed to be as fond of fairy tales as Anzu was.

" Well, apparently all of us got a prince to save us from our towers." She said after Anzu read her Rapunzel, and Anzu chuckled.

"He doesn't fit the description, don't you think? And he was not alone." She observed. But in her heart, she agreed with Serenity. No matter how unusual the prince was, he definitely was their hero. He was Anzu's hero. And he seemed to be Yugi's, as Anzu noticed lately.

Her brother was fast to like and forgive people, but even for him it looked like taking it into extremes. He was spending every evening with the prince and the rest playing cards, and later he would stay with the prince in the garden, talking. She could not notice how late in the night he was getting back to his room. Not to mention the furtive glances he was casting to the windows belonging to the prince's room whenever he was in the garden.

Anzu could not pin point when exactly Yugi changed his approach to the prince and she wanted to ask him about it a few times, but in the end decided against it. He will tell her on his own accord some day. They were no longer only ones in each other's life, they did not have to know each other's thoughts all the time.

Yes, she missed sometimes the connection they used to have, but she was aware that they had to separate their lives somehow, they had to be their own persons to properly function. And while she ached for those moment when it was only two of them, she did not hold it against Yugi. They were still siblings and they will support each other, no matter how many secrets from each other they would have.

/

Tonight they were playing bridge.

Mana excused herself earlier to join Anzu and Serenity in Anzu's room, so only four of them remained. And there is no better game to play with four players than bridge.

Yugi was fully aware that he was acting like a child, but the perspective of playing with people he considered his friends simply made him giddy with excitement. That, and maybe he could play with the prince as his partner...

Ever since that one evening, the one when prince smiled at him, Yugi could not bring himself out of the strange enchantment. Before he couldn't think about the man without fear, now he couldn't think about anything else. He had so many questions, and every moment he could spend with the man was precious.

Red eyes that once frightened him, now only hypnotized him, making him follow the prince to the gardens and just talk with him.

He asked prince about his name once.

"I do not remember it. " He said then, sadness evident in his eyes.

"Mana and Mahad probably do, so why..."

"In our culture, if you do not have a name, you don't deserve it. If I get back the throne, I will get back my name. "

"You will suddenly remember it, Your Highness?" Capital's culture was a strange one. The urge to find the book about capital's customs came back.

The prince chuckled.

"I don't think so. But my royal vizier, Mahad, will have to pronounce me king to four sides of the world, so he will have to use my name. And if it cannot happen, a Nameless King still sounds better than the Mad Prince."

The prince didn't want to talk about himself much, so Yugi talked. He told the prince about his childhood and about his father. He spoke of his mother and of their servants, he spoke of Anzu and of Joey, of everything he could remember. And the prince listened, sometimes asked questions and sometimes just stood by Yugi's side.

He asked about Arkana once and Yugi stopped in his tracks, shocked.

He almost forgot the man. He was so happy lately, that he forgot about his fears, about the hurt he had felt. _He had forgotten about Arkana_. He would've never thought it was possible, and because of the man in front of him, the man who was supposed to be dead and wasn't, it was.

The picture of the prince Yugi now held in his mind was so different from the one he created that first night. Yugi was well aware that he was probably idolizing the prince, forgetting all the bad things that happened, but he refused to think on it. He was much happier with this new image of his savior.

"We should exchange partners every deal, it would be more interesting." Mahad proposed, and to Yugi's disappointment, the prince agreed. Still, it meant he will have his chance at playing with him.

"Mahad, do you want to start with, or against me?" The prince teased, and Mahad shook his head.

"I propose drawing cards. " He said, picking four aces from the deck." Hearts plays with diamonds, spades with clubs. Then hearts will play with spades, and so on."

Everyone nodded.

The first to pair up with Yugi was Mai. Yugi was very fond of her, so he did not complain. She proved to be a skillful, even if sometimes too careful partner. Yugi did not have much experience with playing bridge, he played it with father when he was small and at some point with Arkana, but he remembered rules well enough and at some times, he was sure they could've taken more tricks. But then again, they were only learning playing together. Still, they lost to Mahad and the prince, who seemed to understand each other very well. Since they grew up together, it was no wonder.

Next on, Yugi played with Mahad. Here on the other hand, he felt like the one who was too careful. Mahad seemed to know every trick they have taken and was good at foretelling prince's moves. For a while, Yugi was sure they will win this contract, because the prince and Mai were rivaling with each other instead of playing as a team. Unfortunately, this seemed to be a rouse, and with the last two tricks, Mahad and Yugi were defeated and points went to Mai and the prince.

And finally, Yugi got his wish. He was playing with the prince.

After they have declared their contract, Yugi just went with the flow.

It was almost surreal. One look from his partner and he suddenly knew which card to use, sure in his knowledge of his partner's hand, even though he did not see it. It was as if they have been playing this game together for years, their strategy flawless.

They won with style.

"Look at that. Quite a talent." Mahad said, and Yugi felt himself blushing. A praise from a man as wise as Mahad was something to be proud of, but he couldn't will himself to respond.

"It's always the quiet ones." Mai sighed." I wonder when will my day to wipe the floor with Your Highness comes."

"You are very good Mai" The prince answered, his eyes glinting with satisfaction.

"... You are simply better, yes I know." She cut in, and Yugi got a feeling that they have had this conversation before." I will have to teach somebody how to play and then win with them to feed my ego."

"I lost as well." Mahad pointed out .

"Yes, but you are experienced, you grew up with me." The prince interjected, a smirk on his face.

"And with that final insult, I am going to sleep. I know we should play more, but my fragile ego would not handle it." Mahad said, and bowed to the prince, leaving the dining room.

"At least he is not bitter about it." Mai murmured and followed the suit, bidding both the prince and Yugi good night.

"Are you still bent on not going to sleep tonight?" The prince asked, and Yugi lowered his eyes.

He gathered his monster deck in his hand. He was very fond of his cards, and just as he wished, they were a wonderful source of entertainment. At first, he wanted to use both of his decks interchangeably, but the Falcon one, as he called it, became too special to share it with everyone. So they played with monster deck, while falcon one was in Yugi's pocket, waiting for moments like this. This deck was special to the prince, and as such it quickly became precious to Yugi. It was something of their own.

"I was thinking that we could play Thousand, Your Highness..." At that, prince smiled.

"You have a fine, analytical mind, Yugi. You could be quite a strategist, with your interests and talent..."

"I am still losing to you, Your Highness." Yugi pointed out, shuffling the Falcon deck.

"That is of no consequence. You could..." And here, the prince stopped. He sat for a moment in silence, and Yugi opened his mouth to ask, when the prince jumped to his feet.

"Mahad!" And with that, he was out of the door, running into the garden. Yugi followed him in silence, hearing Mahad's steps on the stairs.

The prince picked up his sword that he hid under a juniper every morning, in case it was needed outside, like it was now.

Mahad with his sword in one hand and lamp in the other joined them and the three of them listened in silence.

Now, Yugi could make out the thud of hooves.

"Yugi, get back inside." The prince said, but before Yugi could move, the rider appeared in his line of vision. He squinted at the darkness.

"It's Joey!" He shouted. And indeed, in the pale light of the moon, Yugi could make out the blond hair and the posture of his friend. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that neither the prince, nor Mahad put down their weapon.

Finally, Joey reached them.

"Yugi! You are alive!" He shouted, jumping down from his horse. "Where is Serenity? Are you all right?" He said, panting with exhaustion. His horse, in which Yugi recognized one of his own horses, Kuri, looked dead on its feet.

"Why shouldn't I be? Serenity is upstairs, what..."

"What are you doing here." At first Yugi almost didn't recognize that cold voice. Then he remembered. He remembered why he was afraid of the prince in the first place.

"I was warned. I received a letter in which Yugi asked for help, said that Crawford already knows where you are and that I must aid you in changing the hideout." Joey said, browsing through his bag. Finally, he took out a piece of paper and gave it to the prince. The man looked at it for a moment, and then showed it to Yugi.

"Is this your handwriting?"

It wasn't. Yugi told the prince so, and the man just nodded.

"This letter is too vague. There is no name here. 'Your sister', 'our hide out', 'your friend'. It is clearly written by someone who knows you have a sister and nothing more. It is a trap." The prince gritted out, cold fury lacing his words.

"He had no way of knowing..." Mahad started, but prince's stare silenced him.

Suddenly, prince's gaze went to the road, and when Yugi listened, he also could hear the sound of someone running.

The prince looked at Mahad and both of them started. The prince mounted the horse while Mahad run next to him their eyes fixed on the road, the lamp Mahad held before now lying forgotten on the ground,.

"I screwed up..." Joey started.

"Joey!" Yugi turned. Anzu, Serenity and Mana were already downstairs, and Mai rushed past them with sword in her hand as well, running after Mahad.

Joey run to Serenity and gathered her in his arms. "I am so sorry, I have betrayed us... I was afraid that they got you, I wasn't thinking..." Serenity didn't seem to listen, concentrated on the fact that her brother was with her.

"Yugi, what is going on?" Anzu asked.

"I don't know. Somebody sent Joey here and followed him. "

"I brought a spy on your doorstep." Joey said, not looking at Anzu or Yugi.

"You couldn't have known... "

"I SHOULD HAVE!" Joey shouted, letting go of Serenity. His eyes were filled with anger, tears running down his face. "He told me to be careful. He told me not to give any personal details. HE WARNED ME!" Yugi assumed that by 'he' Joey meant the prince. "He told me they will spy on me while I am spying on them, but I thought I was so clever... So clever playing the fool. In the end, I was only playing myself." Here, Joey choked on his words.

Serenity started to whisper something, but Joey wasn't listening.

It was awful. How could Yugi say that nothing had happened? But how could he blame Joey, that courageous man who tried to help, who was brave enough to try, and simply made a mistake? A mistake that could cost them lives.

He looked at Anzu, who came to stand next to him.

" What will we do now?" She asked quietly, placing her hand on Yugi's arm, as if trying to comfort him.

"They will get the spy." He answered. And he was sure of it. He learned to believe in these people, in their wish of keeping everyone safe.

Mana was torn, Yugi could tell. She was standing by their group with her sword out, ready to protect them if needed, but Yugi didn't have to ask to know that all she wanted to do was run after the rest and make sure that everyone was all right. Yet, she stayed, for them.

And suddenly, Serenity shouted. " They are coming!"

It took same time, but finally shapes started to form in the distance.

"I will get lamps." Anzu said and rushed inside, switching on the light in the kitchen and coming back with two lamps.

The first person they saw was Mai. Her face was grim and she avoided everyone's eyes. "You should get back inside. There is nothing to see. " She said.

Serenity tried to follow this advice and started to drag Joey by the hand, but he stood in his place.

"Did you get him?" Mai did not answer.

Mahad and the horse came into the light, the prince following closely behind. On the horse, Yugi could see a body. He could not tell, whether the person on the horseback was still breathing.

"Inside." The prince said, and Mahad took the body off the saddle. "Yugi, take this horse to the stables, give it food and water. It lived through much today. After you are done, go back to your room." Yugi simply bowed, afraid to say anything. "Mana, get me a chair. Joey, Serenity. Go back to the house. We will talk in the morning."

Serenity nodded, and Joey's grim determination fought for a moment with the respect he had for the prince. Finally, he deflated and went back inside, guiding his sister and talking with her in whispers.

Yugi took the horse, Kuri with him to the stable.

True to prince's word, the horse looked barely alive. He took off its saddle and reins, and brought water to the poor creature. The horse looked at him in gratitude. He brought hey for it to eat, but Kuri was far more interested in laying down to sleep, ignoring the welcoming neighing of Dragon, and Yugi trying to cool it down with cleaning its pelage.

He left the stables without worry for Kuri, since she seemed to be fast asleep. Now he could concentrate on what was happening. For some reason, the prince didn't want them to see the spy. Why? Was the spy somebody they knew? Yugi didn't know much people, and most of them were already at the house. Was the spy somebody from the prince's ranks? Marik? Ryou? It was impossible, but that would explain why Mai looked so dejected and why the prince wanted to spare them this knowledge.

But Yugi was not a child anymore, and he had seen enough to handle this. He was no longer an outsider, he was in it too. He deserved to know. Besides, to get to his room he would still have to go through the garden, so he will see.

Deep in his thoughts, Yugi entered the garden.

They were not here. But, the light in the kitchen was still on, so they had to be there.

When Yugi entered, his heart stopped.

He was wrong.

He was not ready.

On the chair, tied up and bloodied sat a child.

His short hair was covered with moss and some kind of paint so that it looked as if his hair were green. On his nose he had glasses, now broken, and his face was spread in a mocking, almost fanatical smile.

After the first shock was gone, Yugi noticed that it was not exactly child. Despite his unimpressive height, the boy looked to be roughly Yugi's age.

It didn't help any.

Mai was sitting in front of the boy, asking questions.

Mahad and Mana were behind the chair, their faces frightening, swords in their hands.

Yugi wondered for a moment were the prince was. He got his answer when a voice from the corner of the room asked him:

"Why are you still here?" There, in the shadows, stood the prince, fire from the fireplace dancing in his eyes, paradoxically making them look even colder.

"I wanted to know..."

"Now you do." The prince interrupted, his voice quiet and seemingly calm. " Do you feel better?"

Yugi considered for a moment, but his thoughts were interrupted.

"Who sent you." Mai repeated the question. The boy just grinned.

"You are a desperate lot, fewer in numbers than he thought. He thinks you have any chance, he thinks you can do something. " The boy giggled, and Yugi felt unpleasant shivers on his spine. This spy was raging mad!

"I am going to assume you mean Crawford. He is the one who sent you after the blond one?"

This time, the boy laughed. "Oh, please, I know his name. I know everything about him! "

"Aside from names and location." Mahad noticed, and for the first time, Yugi heard him angry.

"Details. That idiot led me here. It all went well. "Another fit of laughter. Mai slapped him with her hand and stoically repeated her question.

"He is mad." Yugi whispered.

"He is afraid." The prince corrected. "Go away, Yugi."

"You are going to kill him, aren't you, Your Highness?"

"Don't ask me questions you don't want answered. Go away." Yugi knew it was an order, it came from the prince, but Yugi suddenly decided he would not move.

He could deal with Arkana, he could deal with Panic. But with his peer, terrified to the point of losing his mind, he would not go without a fight. He could save him... The prince seemed to like Yugi, maybe if he asked, maybe...

"You don't want to disobey me." The prince urged, and his tone from neutral changed into threatening.

Maybe not.

Yugi bowed and went on his way, trying to avoid looking at the figure on the chair.

"You know what is the best part of it? You will not kill me, and you cannot keep me in a mere house. You lost!" Here, the boy seemed to notice Yuugi, who stopped in his track under the madman's gaze.

"Oh? You've got a doppelganger? That's even better! Crawfo..." But it was too late, a triumphant smirk appeared on Mai's face.

"That's quite enough." She stood up and took her sword off its sheath. "Let's find out if it's true that we will not kill you." She said, and Yuugi could see the pure terror on the boy's face.

"But he said...!" He probably didn't know what he was getting himself into when he followed Joey. Maybe he was doing it because he had no other choice? How else could a boy become a spy? What for?

When Mai raised her hand, Yuugi was faster.

"Don't!" He shouted and jumped between Mai and the boy. Thankfully, Mai stopped her hand in time, the sword stopping inches from Yugi's flesh.

"Out of the way." She said, gesturing for Mana to take Yugi away. The boy behind him laughed maniacally once again and a comprehension of what he had just done downed on Yugi. He raised his hand and looked to the door. He could not see them, and yet he was sure he did -that red, angry orbs of a man he had just disobeyed.

And then everything was covered in smoke and somebody bumped into Yugi on his way.

The boy was getting away.

And it was Yugi's fault.

He ran for the door, hoping to catch the boy before he could betray them all. Or before he will get killed.

When he went outside, he immediately wished he didn't.

The boy was laying on the ground, his throat slashed, just like his stomach. Blood trickling down his chin in streams, his terrified, already unseeing eyes were glued to the figure standing above him, a figure who was now raising his sword once again.

"Stop! He is already dead!" Yugi shouted, throwing himself on the figure without thinking.

The prince just threw him off as if Yugi weighed nothing.

Yugi hit the ground hard, pain blossoming in his hip. Yet he stood up, looking at the prince in defiance.

"You killed a child." He said, looking at the man in front of him, at the blood still fresh on the sword and at the furious, mad expression in man's eyes.

"Pray that I don't kill another one." The prince growled, but Yugi stood in place, by the corpse.

They looked at each other in silence for a while, barely seeing each other, for even moon hid itself from this awful sight.

A shout interrupted anything Yugi thought about saying.

The prince cast one last look at him, a look full of hatred and went back to the kitchen, to Mana, who was shouting for him.

Yugi was left alone with the corpse. Truly, the boy died with fear, murdered by someone who did not resemble human at that moment.

He briefly wondered, how terrible must be to die like that - for that angry eyes to be the last thing one sees before a sword is thrust through one's flesh.

Yugi failed. He could not protect the boy from the prince. He could not protect his friends from the boy. He could not protect himself from the prince. Will he die now? For disobeying? For putting everyone in danger? He was sure that the boy escaped because Yugi bought with his little stunt the precious seconds the spy needed to set himself free and throw whatever it was that caused the smoke.

And by trying to help, Yugi earned the boy a cruel, painful death.

For which he himself will have to pay.

He was stupid.

But his heart would not handle just staring at his peer being murdered for getting himself caught up in something much bigger than himself.

He should have listened when the prince told him to go away.

He tried to spare him the decisions.

He tried to give Yugi the gift if ignorance. And Yugi refused it, thinking he knew better.

With a fleeting thought ' the prince will burn him later.' Yugi went to the kitchen.

The only one inside was Mai. Yugi was ready for glare, for beating for something. But she simply refused to look at him. Somehow it was worst.

"Where are the others?" He asked, praying for Mai to answer.

Yet, she was silent, as if she did not see him, her face grim and deep in thought.

Resigned, Yugi turned toward door, planning to go to his room to enjoy his last night alive.

"Mahad is hurt." He almost thought he imagined it, that faint sentence coming from Mai's direction.

He run up the stairs, barging into Mahad's room.

Everyone was there, everyone aside from the prince.

Mana was crying by Mahad's pillow, while Anzu was gathering his blood into a cup.

"He was struck with something poisoned. We are trying to find the poison and antidote." Serenity explained, taking the cup with blood from Anzu.

Yugi joined Joey at the back of the room, both of them standing by the wall like the culprits they were. It was their fault that Mahad was here.

The worst part of it was that no one said it out loud.

"I got it." At that, Mana raised her head and looked at Serenity in anticipation. "Anzu, use the vial with a complicated name starting with 'jag', it should be the correct antidote." Anzu immediately did as she was asked and poured half of the contents of the vial into Mahad's lips, using the second one to wet the bandages they were applying to Mahad's torso. to cover the wound. He was struck by something small, even smaller than a dagger. Yet, the blood was pouring, so even though small, the wound had to be deep.

The whole room was silent with anticipation.

And suddenly, Mahad took a loud breath and coughed, before he opened his eyes and vomited next to the bed. No one was paying any attention to the smell.

The fact that Mahad was still alive was far more important.

He looked at everyone, smiled and fell asleep.

Mana jumped to her feet and threw herself at Serenity, thanking her and crying at the same time, and Anzu sat down on the carpet, exhausted, trail of tears marking her face as well.

"Yugi. Tell the prince that Mahad will live." Yugi turned. Mai was standing at the door, looking at Mahad's sleeping form with relief. Yet, her voice was harsh.

Yugi did not have any fight in him anymore, so he just bowed and left the room, thanking every deity he could think of for sparing Mahad's life.

He reached the prince's door in some sort of detachment, as if he wasn't the one moving his body towards its doom.

He knocked, and when he didn't receive any answer, he entered, not having much to lose anymore.

"Mahad will survive. Serenity found the antidote in time. He vomited everything and is now sleeping." He announced, noticing how his tone was lacking any life. Only then, he raised his head and looked around.

The prince was sitting in a chair, looking out of the window.

For moment, Yugi thought the prince didn't hear him.

"Why did you come?"

"Mai told me to."

"So you are going to listen to her, but not to me?" That hurt.

It woke up Yugi from his stupor.

He noticed the tiredness of prince's voice, the resignation in prince's eyes.

"If it changes anything, Your Highness... Though I know it doesn't, I only wanted to help. " The prince did not interrupt him or kill him, so Yugi continued, hoping to at least make his peace with the man before he was to be judged for his sins.

" When I looked him, I saw a scared boy, a boy who was going to die because somebody told him to spy on dangerous people. He was my age... " Here, he felt the tears stream down his face. Emotions from the whole night now pouring out of him, as if he had some kind of catharsis.

"I know that it put everyone in danger, I know it is my fault that Mahad was almost killed, I know I disobeyed Your Highness... I simply wanted to save him. To save somebody."

Here, Yugi stopped and wiped his tears.

" I wished I will never see you become a murderer again."

At that, the prince finally looked at him.

"I was born a murderer, Yugi. I am a prince. As a ruler, I cannot be anything else. There will always be people who must be killed so that other people might live. "He said, standing up.

He walked to Yugi, his eyes unreadable.

"The only thing I can do to be a good ruler is avoid mistakes. My uncle made a mistake. He locked me up in an underground prison for three years instead of killing me. Simple whim of heart is going to cost him his throne and life, for I have escaped." The voice and eyes were calm, and yet Yugi was once again struck with how frightening they were. And yet... And yet Yugi was still here, refusing to run.

He could have run away from the house. He could leave everything here, refuse to take part in it. Yet he obediently came to this man to be judged, to ask for forgiveness, to apologize.

At least he learned the answer to one of his questions,he knew where the prince was for three years, and why he was not used to light.

"A simple mistake, one life given or taken, can change everything. And people always have a choice. Always. He had a choice, and he made it, coming here. I had a choice and I decided to kill him so that my people will stay safe for longer, until they are ready to face Crawford. You also had a choice. You refused to go." The prince's hands were now on Yugi's arms.

"You decided to stay and interfere. I should kill you for that. You are starting to be dangerous for operation and for my people. Today, your choices were a danger to Mahad. Who will you endanger with your soft heart tomorrow? Mana? Anzu? Me?"

Yugi wanted to scream, to assure the prince that he would never... And yet he did. He already did.

"I do not make mistakes, Yugi. I cannot afford them. Joey was unprepared, yet he did what I wanted, he attracted duke's attention, especially now that he had disappeared seemingly without a reason. Trusting him was not a mistake. He brought a spy with him, but that was something we had to take into account. But you, Yugi..."

Prince's eyes were now looking directly into Yugi's.

"Sparing your life might become my first mistake. _You_ might become my first mistake."

Yugi's heart was now beating frantically, as if trying to escape his chest.

"I don't want to kill you. Don't make me chose between you and safety of my people ever again. Because there is only one choice for me."


	8. Chapter 8

That night Anzu couldn't sleep.

In fact, she didn't want to.

Mahad was safe for now, she knew that while leaving his room. His easy breathing filled her ears as she closed the door on Mahad and Mana, who remained there to watch over her master.

Yet Anzu still did not feel at ease.

Something happened and it involved Yugi somehow.

Something happened, and she didn't know what to do.

Barge into the prince's room and demand answers? Brave, but foolish. She could further endanger her brother, if her suspicions about his situation were true.

She tried to gather all the facts- she knew that Mahad and the rest had caught the spy, and that she and Serenity were asked to leave, and they did. Anzu did not get the chance to look at the spy, and she waited in her room with Serenity and Joey, waiting for Yugi to come back from the stables.

And then, there was a shout and Mana and Mai shouted for help. Joey went down and helped the prince, who was still covered with blood, _don't think about whose_ , _concentrate_ , carry Mahad's unconscious body.

In the rush of trying to save man's life, the only thing Anzu's mind registered out of what Mana was saying, was that Yugi somehow helped the spy to get away and hurt Mahad.

But then, saving life was more important. She left Mahad with Joey and rushed downstairs with to get bandages.

Someone was already in the kitchen when she entered.

"I will wait for him here." Mai said simply, as if it explained everything, and Anzu did not bother to try and understand it, the threat to Mahad's life more important that cryptic behaviour of one woman. She gathered bandages and a bowl of water, wondering if that would be enough.

When she got back to the room, the prince was done conversing with Serenity and Joey as it seemed, for he was parting from them with a nod of his head.

"Save him." He said when his eyes met Anzu's, and thought there was no trace of bagging in his words or tone, she saw the desperation in the red eyes. The prince left the room, and Anzu's mind became focused on Mahad again.

"I need to see, what kind of poison was used." Serenity whispered, and Anzu nodded, forgetting that Serenity could not see her do so.

"I really hope it is one you already encountered." She replied finally, praying to whatever gods would listen, that it will be so.

"I do too." The response was so faint, that Anzu almost missed it.

She looked at the wound, cleaning it with water. It didn't look to deep, but there was something in it that betrayed the danger it posed. Maybe it was the color of blood, darker than that Anzu was used to.

"I know it sounds awful, but I need to smell his blood, could you gather it for me?"

Anzu did not hesitate. She took a cup from, Mahad's desk, thanking deities that it was there, and collected blood inside of it, ignoring her insides twisting with disgust.

There were more important thing now, she could succumb to her dislike of blood later. Now was not the time.

She didn't hear Yugi enter until Serenity started explaining what they were doing.

The rest of happening of the night were a bit hazy in Anzu's mind. She remembered waiting, she remembered searching for a vial with a strange name she could not recall now. She remembered the relief when Mahad woke up for a moment and disposed of the poison from his body.

She cannot remember why and when Yugi left.

And now, leaving Mahad with Mana, she left the room with Joey and Serenity, both of them engrossed in silent conversation, and noticed that her brother was gone.

Mana's words from earlier came back to her.

Yugi was somehow involved in Mahad being hurt.

And now he was missing...

For a moment, she thought that her heart had stopped.

She ran to the second floor and was now stuck in front of the prince's door, debating whether her brother was even there. Whether her brother was even alive.

She could hear nothing through the door.

Maybe no one was there?

Suddenly, the door opened, and the prince, a bloodied sword in his hand, left the room, not paying any attention to Anzu.

She watched him come down, and then her mind provided her with a vision of Yugi mutilated on the prince's carpet, so she ran inside the room.

She almost cried with relief.

Yugi was in there, kneeling on the floor, shaking with sobs, but alive.

 _Alive_.

Not thinking much, she approached him and kneeled next to him, pulling him into a hug.

"Are you alright?"She whispered, feeling Yugi's tears wetting her dress.

Only more sobs answered her.

She braved on, knowing that this was what Yugi needed.

Silent, undemanding support. For now, he only needed to know that he was not alone in all of this, that he is safe because his sister is with him. She knew that she was not much, she definitely wasn't strong, nor very smart, but Yugi didn't need that at the moment.

In fact, she was sure that strong and smart was the reason of Yugi's tears.

And she could give him kindness and love.

They stayed like that for a moment, embracing each other, until Yugi's breathing calmed down.

"I... I don't know what to do..." He said finally, sitting back and looking her in the eyes. "It is all my fault, we could have been killed, Mahad almost was!" Anzu patiently waited, aware that any kind of reassurance had to wait until Yugi was done, or he won't listen.

"And I understand, I know that he is right, that as a prince he couldn't do anything else and yet... And yet..."A sob interrupted him. " And yet I still wish I had saved that boy." Here, Yugi lowered his head, his tears dropping on the carpet. So the spy was a child. That explained a lot.

"I am afraid of him, Anzu, I am so afraid. " Yugi whispered.

"He kills people, I should be afraid! And yet, the thing that scares me the most is that I disappointed him. I interfered! I..." Here Yugi cut himself, hiding his face in the crook of Anzu's arm.

"Listen to me." Anzu started, running her fingers through Yugi's hair. " You are a good person. You did what you believed was right. And he cannot fault you for that. " Here, Yugi made a noise of disagreement. "He cannot, any more you can fault him for being what he is. He took the boy's life, not you. You opposed to it, but there was nothing else you could do. Don't take it upon yourself to save everybody."

"He told he will kill me if I interfere again." Anzu did not doubt it. She was quite sure that the prince would do it, his faith in his beliefs stronger than his conscience and sympathies.

"Then do not interfere. Don't make his choices yours. You agreed to be a part of this rebellion, so do not endanger yourself anymore to fight its leader. " What she was about to say now would probably frighten the Anzu from a month ago, but it didn't change the fact that these words were what she believed to be true. " Besides, it is not like we are running around killing innocent bystanders. It like your game of chess; to win you have to take out the pawns. "

Yugi looked at her outraged, fire sparkling in his eyes.

"You are talking about people here!"

She sighed gently.

"We are also people, Yugi. All of us. Mana, Mahad, you and me. If they want to harm us, why shouldn't we harm them before they succeed?" For a moment, Yugi looked lost.

Then, he stood up.

"I think we have all changed much."

Anzu stood up as well.

"That we did." They stood in silence for a while, looking at each other, as if trying to see those changes in each other's faces. But it was not so simple. They changed inside.

At last, Yugi moved.

"I still don't know what to do, and how to feel about everything, but... Thank you." Here, Yugi hugged her. And left the room.

They were indeed changing.

The old Anzu would have run after Yugi, but this one decided to let him be. He had lots to deal with, without her worrying about him, and at least he knew now, he was not alone.

Not planning on sleeping tonight, Anzu directed her steps downstairs.

She wondered what would become of them.

Not in the physical sense, for she knew that there were many options. They could succeed and bring back a rightful king to the throne. They could lose everything and die in shame, forgotten by history. They could survive the fall and run, living the rest of their lives as vagabonds, finding a new home somewhere overseas. There were many options, and almost every single one was as frightening as it was exciting, aside from losing and dying one.

But them?

How will they change?

She knew she was something else, that she was becoming harder with each they, tasting her freedom and loving it, willing to fight for it in every way she could. She did not approve of brutality, but she was under no illusions about the world- there was no way to receive power without getting a dirt on one's hands. She could deal with danger and murder, as long as it wasn't mindless cruelty, that she had enough of for one lifetime.

But Yugi?

Will a day come, when he would not bat an eye? When he would not fight for what he believed to be true? That was a question.

Deep in her thoughts, Anzu did not notice when her steps directed her to the garden.

It was still night, but she could see the garden and the man inside of it pretty clearly. When she looked harder, she understood why. There was a fire inside her garden.

"Wouldn't a fire attract attention, Your Highness?" She asked, immediately recognizing the figure. The prince was leaning on his sword, now clean, and looking at the flames.

"Not greater than a body hidden in bushes or in the forest. And while one grave could be explained, the second one would raise questions if somebody came here. Besides, that's why we are here. This house is the furthest to the North. It is not easily observed from the town." Came the calm reply, and Anzu just nodded.

Now, calm and pensive, light playing on his face, the prince truly looked like a king. She could envision him as a compassionate, wise ruler, sitting on his throne to listen and aid his subjects. Despite his rash actions, Anzu realized, the prince already was like that. True, he was 'rough around the edges' as Mana liked to describe him, but she could not say that he was cruel or foolish. He inspired trust, and even though his actions were brutal, Anzu felt safe in his presence.

"You are right, Your Highness." For a moment, she didn't know what to say. She never had the time to just follow the prince and talk, like Yugi did, and if she was honest with herself, she didn't feel the need before. Now, however, she had no intention of going anywhere.

"Your brother seems to disagree." Only now Anzu noticed, that while she was looking at him, he was returning her gaze, his eyes inquiring.

"Yugi has always been gentle. If it depended on him, no one would argue or fight, he doesn't like violence. In fact, he is pretty shaken by what happened." At that, the prince nodded.

"In some other worlds, his heart would be the greatest force, the greatest magic one could imagine. If his heart were to be weighted in the Afterlife, it would be lighter than a feather." Anzu had no idea what the prince was talking about, but it didn't bother her. The most important part- the awe of Yugi's kindness was hard to miss. " But in our world and times, I do not see it wise to follow one's heart." Anzu made a noise of agreement.

"What brought you here, our gracious hostess?" That question surprised her. She had no answer to give. Sure, she could say that she couldn't sleep, or that she wanted to know what happened, but that sounded inadequate, even if it was true.

"I would really appreciate it, if you would address me by my name, Your Highness." She said instead.

"If that is your wish." They lapsed into silence, both staring at flames. Soon, there would be nothing but ashes left of the boy who became a spy.

Anzu wondered whether the boy had some family that was waiting for him, a mother who didn't know that her son was not coming back. Strange, how she was not bothered with such thoughts when Panic appeared. Maybe he too, was a son, a father, a husband?

"Do you think about them? The people you had to kill?" She said, forgetting who she was talking to. But the prince did not seem angry.

"No. But I remember them, and I am aware that their ghosts will be waiting for me when I leave this world. I do not keep the count of the lives I took, but I remember them. " He looked at the fire.

"Am I monster to you?" Anzu was suddenly struck with thought that the prince did not mean her specifically. He meant Yugi, her, and every other person that wasn't in his troops, every person he was fighting for, unsure, as Anzu now realized, whether they will even accept him. He knew that what his uncle did was bad, but he feared, that in the eyes of the people, he might be even worse than Aknadin, who was hated, but not dreaded.

"You are a prince. To me, Your Highness, you are a future king. For Yugi, you are a hero. And in a tale, almost every hero has to slay a dragon at some point. It doesn't make him a monster." She said, moved by compassion for the prince.

The surprise and hope in the prince's eyes were beautiful, and the small smile he gave her was better than any 'thank you' she could hear.

"You are a good person, Anzu." It never felt so good to hear her name being spoken by anybody.

Suddenly embarrassed, Anzu bowed her head and wished the prince goodnight.

/

Yugi couldn't sleep.

But this time, he was not ready to go to the garden and look at yet another pile of ashes that would remind him of his failure.

He was not ready to face the prince.

He was not ready to see coldness and disapproval on the face that smiled at him from behind the cards few hours ago.

The images of the prince Yugi had before were now melting into one, and Yugi didn't know how to feel about it. One, he feared, the second he admired. It was hard to reconcile those two opposite feelings, and Yugi didn't know what to do, what to feel.

He wanted to talk with Joey, to share his misery with someone who would understand, but Joey needed his space, needed his time with Serenity. Bond between siblings was like any other, and Yugi knew it all too well.

He was grateful to Anzu for her words, for her support, but Anzu wasn't there when that happened. She didn't know what he felt, what he saw. She didn't hear Mana's scream, she didn't look at Mai's face and she haven't seen cold anger instead of kindness in Mai's eyes. She didn't have blood on her hands.

Not knowing when, Yugi drifted off into uneasy sleep.

He woke up with the first rays of sun, even more tired than before.

He contemplated staying in bed, just for the sake of it, but a sudden noise from the corridor convinced him to abandon bed. As silent as he could, Yugi left his room, trying to find the source of the noise.

He found it soon enough, when the doors to prince's room closed in front of him.

The sun was up, so it figured that the prince got back.

Now, when the oppressive silence of the night was gone, Yugi's mind drifted back to what the prince had said before.

Three years in an underground prison... Could it be true? That would explain why he could not stand the sun right now, especially if what Yugi remembered about capital's religion was true - the Sun was the highest god of all, and to be cut from it was almost like death.

Yugi shuddered.

It must have been terrible, not being able to see a thing... Then he thought of Serenity. She was still in the dark, yet she was not tainted by it, like the prince was.

Then again, Mana had said that the prince did not change that much. Maybe he was good at acting.

Yugi couldn't imagine what would happen to him, if he was to be held captive for three years with no sun, no wind on his face, no one to speak his name.

Still, shouldn't the prince be grateful for being alive? Why did he call king Aknadin's decision a mistake, if for him it meant life?

Yugi wanted to know what the prince was really thinking, what was his reasoning and beliefs. He had some idea, because he listened and observed, but it was not enough.

It probably wasn't healthy, but Yugi couldn't help himself. He wanted to understand.

He knocked on the door.

"Come in." With no hesitation, Yugi did. The prince had proven that without a reason, he will not harm Yugi, and Yugi trusted him.

"Good morning, Your Highness." He entered. Some strange, flowery smell was the first thing he noticed about the room.

The second was that the prince was sitting on his bed with his shirt off, cleaning himself with water from a bowl standing on the ground. Yugi immediately averted his eyes. " Shall I come back later?"

The prince sighed, and Yugi was taken aback for a moment.

"There is no need to." Came the reply, and the prince returned to his task. "I can see clearly now that you are indeed siblings. You come to pester me with questions at most inconvenient times." Did that mean that Anzu had talked with the prince as well? When? What about?

Yugi felt a ping of anger, Anzu never seemed to be interested in talking with the prince before, it was Yugi's place, it was Yugi's thing... But it wasn't important now.

"I..." Yugi started, but the prince sighed once again, and Yugi lost his train of thoughts, staring into the man's torso instead. It was as dark as his face, yet it looked slightly paler, which was understandable, taking into consideration prince's tale. There were some scars, not very remarkable, but still there. Only one caught Yugi's eye, and not because it was big, but because it was irregular.

Yugi must have been really obvious about his staring, because the prince sighed once more.

"Which part of me caught your attention?" He asked simply, stopping his ministrations with water.

"The scar on your stomach. It is quite unusual, Your Highness, if I may..."He trailed off. Only now he realized how shaky was the ground he was standing on. On one hand, he did get closer to the prince, and they have had similar conversations before. On the other hand, he had angered the man few hours ago and was threatened with death the last time he saw him. Maybe he should have thought this over.

The prince was just looking at him in silence.

Maybe he should apologize and bolt, while he still has time...

"Why are you so interested in me, Yugi?" Genuine surprise colored the question, as if the prince didn't consider himself worthy of such attention, which was interesting to say the least. Why wouldn't he? Before Yugi could assure the man, the prince put on his shirt and shifted in his bed so that the sun was not shining at him directly.

"Never mind. I got that one from an assassin, just after I escaped."

"How did you escape? Your Highness?" Yugi added, not wanting to insult the man, especially now.

"That is for me to know." Here, that dangerous smirk Yugi associated with prince's justice entered man's face. " But this building is no more. "

For some reason, Yugi was sure that fire was somehow included.

"Of course, my uncle immediately knew that it would be too easy to assume that I am dead. So he sent an assassin to find me. And find me he did, just before I reached found Mana and Mahad." At the mention of Mahad's name, Yugi felt a twinge of guilt. He probably wouldn't be able to look at Mana without fear and shame, not to mention Mahad when he wakes up.

Not wanting to dwell on that, Yugi concentrated on the tale.

" He enjoyed pain and fear more than anything, and that kept me alive. Instead of killing me right away, he decided to play a game with me." One look at the prince's face assured Yugi, that by 'game' the prince meant 'tortures'.

"That was his mistake. He gave me time to free myself. " _Like_ _one you gave time to that kid_ was left unsaid, but Yugi heard it nonetheless.

"Did you know him?" At that, the prince moved his gaze to the window, deep in thought.

"I didn't at the time. I met his family later. At first I thought they will want to avenge him. One of them actually tried to." Yugi lowered his head, many emotions fighting for dominance in his heart.

"What happened to them?" Yugi's heart already knew the answer.

His face must have betrayed him, for the prince looked hurt for a short while. Then, his eyes steeled.

"You met them. "

 _What?_

" The assassin was Marik's twin brother." Yugi was shocked, and immediately embarrassed at his surprise, for the prince let out a bitter laugh.

"You thought I did not know mercy? That I do not have honour? Even after I spared you?"

"No, Your Highness." Yugi answered, but it sounded weak.

"You did." The prince stood up and drank from the cup beside the bed. "That is enough of questions for now. If you truly want to understand, you will never do it by listening to me. You have a privilege of being just you, of being a good person. I do not have this luxury. I do not have time for showing kindness and mercy for people who do not want it and do not ask for it." He sat back on the bed, red eyes drilling into Yugi's. "Marik and Ishizu asked."

 _And they were spared and joined your cause..._ That sounded all too familiar. So sparing Yugi and Anzu's lives was just a strategic decision? Did the prince know that they will join him, just like Marik and Ishizu did? Were they nothing more than just pawns in a complicated game? Yugi didn't know why, but that thought hurt. It hurt even more when he realized, that he was a phony pawn, an unreliable one, since Mahad was now hurt because of him.

His previous certainty disappeared, leaving Yugi afraid once more, afraid and lonely, as if the prince had personally betrayed him. Why did he feel like this?

He wanted them to be friends, he hoped that their talks, that this time they shared, meant something else than just making sure Yugi remained loyal.

But on the other hand, what use could Yugi be? What could he do? Nothing.

So maybe...?

" I apologize for disturbing you, Your Highness." He said, ignoring the wavering of his voice. He needed to get back and steel himself for facing Mana and Mai, he needed to be collected and take the blame as gracefully as Mana did. He needed to sort out his feelings about the prince.

"Yugi." He stopped in his tracks. Prince's voice was unusually gentle. " If you truly want to understand, join me. I will show you the world through my perspective."

"What do you mean, Your Highness?" Yugi almost hated himself for how hopeful he sounded.

"Mahad will be for some time unable to aid me. I need an advisor, someone to consult my plans and ideas with."

Yugi tried to calm the beating of his heart.

"I would be honoured to, Your Highness." With that, he bowed and left the prince's room.

He closed the door behind him and directed his steps downstairs, to join Anzu in the kitchen, his thought occupied with prince's offer.

Suddenly, he bumped into something.

Before he could process what happened, he was standing face to face with Mana.


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you guys for your support!

Special thanks to ChangeOfHe4rt and Hama431, you guys are my constant support and I love you very much for it. I also want to thank everyone who left a review or favorited/followed this story, I really cannot stress how grateful to all of you I am!

* * *

Anzu woke up pretty early, considering the time she went to bed.

She came down to the kitchen and seeing that no one was up, she took her time to go see the hens, that were now under Mana's care and collect the eggs. Mana had more important things to concentrate on and Anzu had some free time now.

She wanted to see to the stables next, to find out how Kuri was faring, when she heard voices.

Before she could panic, she recognized one of the voices to be Joey. She stopped to listen, minding Mahad's advice - always be on guard. It wasn't like she didn't trust Joey, gods forbid, yet any new information, as Mahad said, would be useful. So she stayed, trying to keep as quiet as possible.

"... he wasn't even angry, you know? I would even say he was sympathetic, and that was even worse. He assumed I would fail and I did. You all were surprised he chose me and I proved you right. I..." Here, Joey was interrupted.

"Don't be absurd and stop pitying yourself this instant." That was Mai, her tone harsh like it was the night before. " True, we were surprised, but can you blame us? It was nothing personal, you were just a person from outside, a man whom we met recently, who was not as skilled and did not receive the same training we did." Here, Anzu heard something she assumed to be a hit. "I said, stop pitying yourself! You are behaving like a child! You are not a knight and you weren't with us on our journey, how could you be skilled? You are a huntsman, and a good one since you found us in the forest. "

Joey was now worryingly silent.

"But you are not a spy, so don't beat yourself up now, because it is no use. It was prince's and yours decision and you both decided it was a good idea. So bear that responsibility and stop whining. "

"What would you do?" Joey asked in a small voice, so that Anzu barely heard him.

Mai laughed, but it was not a happy laugh. It had some dark edge to it and it reminded Anzu of the prince.

"The same thing I did year ago. I would swear to him that I can gain his trust back and I would do just that."

"What?" At least at that Joey's tone stopped sounding so defeated.

"He hasn't told you? I betrayed him year ago. "

 _What?_ Anzu was using all of her willpower not to scream. What was going on? She thought she knew these people! Now, she was cursing her own naiveté. And she claimed that Yugi was the naive one, what a joke! But... If Mai betrayed them, how was she still alive?

"How... Why are you here then?" Joey asked, and Anzu moved even closer to the wall, not wanting to lose any single word.

"I joined the prince out of curiosity after he bested me in duel. I was a champion in my village, the Sword Mistress and I was without an equal. So of course, I was cocky enough to challenge him after one comment from Mana, who said that I stood no chance. I remember it so well... They were sitting in the inn, just in the corner, talking just among themselves. I was celebrating my victory over... I cannot even recall his name right now. And suddenly, in the midst of my companion's cheering, I heard this little girl saying 'I bet she has nothing on you, Your Highness'. Mai's voice was suddenly serious and pensive.

'I couldn't pass up the possibility of defeating a royalty, no matter which country they came from, so I challenged him. He smirked at me, as if I was just an amusing little girl waving her sword around. So I started to taunt him, and finally, he stood up. We went outside and fought in the night because I thought that knowing the terrain would give me advantage."

"It didn't, right? He is good with darkness." Mai hummed at that, confirming Joey's suspicions.

"I didn't last long and he disarmed me with no difficulty. As you can imagine, I wasn't very happy about that. I decided to join him to learn how to best him. I was getting bored with winning every single time and he was something new. By then, Ryou wasn't with us yet and Marik was much more jumpy and sticking to Ishizu and that tattooed guy, so I mostly spent my time with Mana and Mahad, and the prince of course. They taught me much and I was certain that soon, I would beat them all."

"Did you?" Anzu wondered, if the two would have this conversation with her in the room. She felt bad just listening in and she wanted to ask some questions of her own, but then... She had noticed that there is some bond between Mai and Joey, so maybe it was better that she stayed hidden.

"No. Then, we met the Order of Atlantis and they were strong, stronger than the prince's knights. So I left the group and joined the Order, wanting to become more powerful. I told them everything I knew about the prince, how he hated light and how Mahad and Mana were more precious to him than his life, how he escaped from somewhere. I thought it was just useless information, simple gossiping. Sounds familiar?"

It did. Anzu wondered for a moment, if the history was not just repeating itself, slightly changing the names of its heroes. It left the colour of hair intact in case of Mai and Joey. At this, Anzu had to hold back laugh. Truly, her life was descending into madness.

"Yes. But what made you change your mind?"

"It turned out that the Order was after the prince for some reason, as you know he is not that good at making friends. We ambushed him in the daylight and I cannot tell you what I was thinking then. I only wanted to prove to myself that I was better than him. Mahad, Mana, everyone was fighting with the Order, while I went for the prince. He was terrifying in his anger, and even though the sun had put him in disadvantage, he was fighting me and winning. I fell down on the ground."

"Did he... Wait, he could possibly kill you and resurrect you, so don't mind me, do go on." Ah, Joey. Anzu had to stifle her laugh once again. Mai didn't bother with that.

"I sometimes forget that you are still a child, Joey." She said, still laughing. "No, he didn't kill me. Lying, I noticed that one of me 'brothers' was ready to behead Mana. And believe me or not, I couldn't bear the thought of causing Mana's death. You know her, she is so gentle, so high-spirited... So, against my principles, I escaped from my battle with the prince and went to save Mana. I managed to drive Varon off, but I didn't see Amelda coming at me from behind, I was busy making sure Mana was all right. She had her arm broken and fighting with left hand was not her forte, so I was trying to shield her and get her to safety at the same time. And then Amelda attacked. We would have been dead, if it wasn't for the prince. "

"He sound like a hero, even though he doesn't act like it." Joey noticed, and Anzu had to silently agree.

"Yes, and sometimes I hate him for it. He protected us both, as if forgetting about my betrayal. Mana was clinging to me, asking me were Mahad was and I could answer her because my mind was blank. I didn't know what to do, what was going to happen, so I just watched. Finally, Mahad, Rishid and the prince killed the master of the Order and the rest of my 'brothers' escaped. We were saved. Or, at least they were, because I didn't know what fate would await me."

Anzu was sure that she heard the small wavering of Mai's voice when she said that. The pure emotion in those words made her forget her previous suspicions towards Mai.

"I remembered asking Mana why she didn't fight me when I came to her, and her answering 'because we were friends.' I think I cried at that. And then, the prince came to me and said, that because I saved Mana, I will be spared."

"It feels awful when he is forgiving, doesn't it?" Joey mused.

"It is. And I didn't want to go away. I finally understood, that going with them was the best that happened to me. I never had friends, you see, for I simply didn't need them. Or so I thought. They showed me how companionship looks like and I wanted that. More than victories, as it turned out. So I begged him to let me stay. I swore that I will make him trust me again. He accepted. And that's how we are here, bonding in stables over our failures." She finished cheerfully.

Now Anzu felt guilty about staying. What Mai said was private, only for Joey to hear. Mai opened up to him because he made a similar choice, a similar mistake and she wanted to cheer him up, to show him that he is still worthy, that he can redeem himself. Anzu didn't have any right to hear any of it.

She stood up and crawled away, trying to minimize the noise she made.

This is what became of her, a suspicious, morally opaque person who listened to other people's conversations.

On the other hand, that's what Mahad told her to do, every time. She was supposed to take every opportunity to learn something new.

But who was Mahad to her?

It was all very confusing and with time she was becoming more and more invested and yet unsure of what was going on.

She entered the kitchen and started making tea, causing enough noise so that she won't hear any potential conversation that might be carried on within her earshot.

Now she understood clearly what Yugi was talking about. They were taught different set of morals, they understood what was right and what was evil very differently than he prince and his men. And they allowed themselves to be molded to the knight's standards, or at least Anzu did. But parts of her didn't agree with theses new set of rules, trying to compromise between 'right' and 'wise'.

No time to have doubts now.

Gods gave her knights as her saviors, so following them, following the prince, would be a logicall thing to do.

The prince told her that she was wise.

 _And in a tale, almost every hero has to slay a dragon at some point. It doesn't make him a monster_

She said to him then, and she believed that too. But was she a hero as well? Did she and all of them deserve absolution for what they did only because it was for a good cause?

Or maybe they were villains, drunk on their ideas of greatness that were just making excuses for evil they caused?

Anzu looked out of the window to the garden and saw Joey and Mai coming out of the stables, small content smiles on their faces, as if everything was all right, as if they were just taking a walk.

"Good morning!" Mai said happily stepping into the kitchen.

"And to you as well." Anzu replied, and she didn't even had to fake her smile. She loved these people and she believed in their cause, in their words. And Mai's tale should serve as the final proof, that they were not evil, or at least, that they had goodness in them. And that was more than she could say about Aknadin's troops.

"I think I will have to talk to the prince anytime soon, so please fortify me with tea!" Exclaimed Joey, and Anzu chuckled. Maybe the chuckle was too loud, but it was genuine.

"I don't think word 'fortify' can be used like that." She teased. Joey looked unsure for a moment, then he shrugged.

"I'm going to face the future king, grammar is nothing for me." He said finally, and when Mai opened her lips to add something to it, he pointed at her.

"Don't even start." Mai smirked and winked at Anzu.

"Do you want some help?" She asked instead. Anzu just nodded.

Good or not, these were her people.

/

Yugi wanted to run, but his legs failed him.

He just stared at Mana, waiting for her to do something.

"Come with me." She said, and her tone was commanding like never before.

Yugi followed her obediently downstairs and to the main entrance to the mansion. From the kitchen he could hear voices belonging to Anzu and Joey.

Where he faster or just more conscious of what he was doing, he would be sitting there chatting with them.

On the other hand, he had to face Mana at some point, so maybe it was better this way. They left the mansion and stopped in front of the house.

"I don't want anyone to listen to our conversation. Besides, we are pretty good at talking outside." Mana said, and sat down.

Confused, Yugi did the same.

" First of all, I just want you to know that I am furious with you." Yugi opened his mouth to defend himself somehow, to apologize, but she silenced him with a gesture. "However, I am well aware that you are not to blame. My anger at you is not logical and I cannot vent and hurt you in the process. So I decided we should talk. I will probably shout at you at some point, but I want us to remain friends."

That was a relief. Only now Yugi was struck with how much he feared being hated by Mana. The thought was almost as scary to entertain as the one concerning the prince's hatred towards Yugi was.

"Before you start to explain yourself, I need you to understand. Mahad and the prince are everything to me. Everything. The thought of losing one of them is the worst thing in the world. And what you did yesterday could result in just that." Her face was still hardened with anger and worry, but her tone was somehow more gently.

"We grew up together, Yugi. And Mahad was with me when the prince wasn't. Think how you would feel if somebody endangered Anzu ?"

He would feel angry and scared and... He knew what Mana felt, or at least he thought he knew. Anzu was his sister. But, he would want to know, why that hypothetical person did it. And Mana apparently did too.

"So at first, when I was sure Mahad was going to live, I wanted to kill you. But now, after I calmed down, I am ready to listen. Now, you can talk." She said and gave Yugi an almost smile.

"Look, I... I wasn't thinking what I was doing." Mana's face told him that that much was obvious. " I just saw this kid, probably my age, who was scared and was going to die because somebody told him it was safe to follow Joey. " At that Mana nodded.

"And I know that the prince told me to go away and to spare me the choice, but that boy looked at me and I forgot what I was supposed to be doing. I wanted to help somebody. Ever since you were here I've been forced to watch people die. And I understand why you make these choices, it is wise. But it doesn't make it right." Here Yugi moved closer to Mana trying to recreate how they were sitting not so long ago, when they were sharing stories and simply being friends.

"I am very sorry about what happened to Mahad, I am. But I cannot promise you that I wouldn't do the same thing all over again. I cannot just chose not to react, I am not that kind of person. And I cannot evaluate which one of us is right."

Mana nodded once again.

"Neither can I. I just believe that there are some sacrifices we have to make on our way. Have you ever been to the capital?" Here Yugi shook his head since he haven't. In fact, he was pretty sure his parents haven't either. Their house was so far away that mostly they weren't concerned with the king at all. Only merchants brought with them gossip about who the royal family acts and looks like. And Yugi never felt the need to know more. True, he and Anzu wanted to ask the king for help at some point, but that was it.

"I have. And trust me when I say that Aknadin shouldn't be the king. You on the North are usually overlooked by him and his goons, but we at the capital weren't. Me and Mahad were thrown out of the palace just for supporting the prince. The temple built for the prince's father was brought down and burned and the prince was said to be killed. The people were afraid and confused. And what Aknadin did? He let his soldiers loose." She didn't need to say more. Yugi have read enough books to understand what happened when soldiers were set free. Rape, plunder, arson. But to do that to your own people? How come they didn't know about it?

"To make matters worse, Aknadin got paranoid. He was sure that everyone was secretly conspiring against him. He promised everyone who snitched on somebody a fair share of money of the accused." Yugi was now getting seriously sick. How could he live on with such a king? How could he not care? True, his mind was occupied by Arkana, but...

"You can imagine how many innocent people died just because someone wanted their money. If that was not enough, Aknadin created additional law- anyone caught not showing appropriate respect to his name and position would be found guilty of treason. He is so unsure in his power that he is ready starve and abuse his own people just to make sure he stays the king."

Yugi was shaken to say the least. He had no idea. He never even thought...

"I understand your morals Yugi, and I won't ask you to get rid of them. But keep them to yourself. We are gambling here with safety of all of us. You shouldn't add to the risk."

He just nodded, tears prickling at his eyes. He didn't even notice when Mana's hands reached him and pulled him into embrace.

"I know it is hard Yugi. But we all try to remain good while doing what is right. Because it is right. You have to believe it." He hugged her closer, letting his emotions go.

He cried and cried, his mind blank. The only thing that he was aware of was Mana's hands on his back.

Finally, he calmed down.

"You all right?" He asked her, and that seemed to surprise her a bit.

"Now I am. I was worried sick the whole night, but he is getting better. And I do not feel angry at you anymore, so I feel much better!" She smiled that wonderful, happy smile of hers and helped him up.

"The prince made me his advisor for the time being. I will learn. I will find a way to make good and wise choices." He promised, not bothering himself with the fact that he probably sound like an eager, idealistic child.

Mana gave him a fond look and gestured to the house.

"Shall we?"

He opened his mouth to answer her, but then he heard the hooves behind him.

Oh gods, what now?

* * *

This time we are getting some back stories and a set up for the main events. I hope I won't bore you to death with characters thinking over morals, but it is a great issue in anime and I need it to form the clash between dreams/idealism and reality which is crucial later, believe me.

And Aknadin's method of ruling is based off Emperor Tiberius' from Ancient Rome.


	10. Chapter 10

Mana looked lost. From her face Yugi easily guessed that she had left her sword in room with Mahad and was now cursing her forgetfulness.

They were defenseless.

The man on the horse, however, didn't seem hostile. He hadn't drawn his sword for a start.

He stopped in front of them as if everything was normal and jumped off his horse.

"Greetings to you." He said with a somehow foreign accent.

"Who are you? Why do you look like..." Mana trailed off, not easing her fighting stance. Now that Yugi got a closer look at the stranger he noticed what Mana was getting at.

The man in front of them had his black hair pulled into ponytail, so at first his appearance didn't interest Yugi.

But now he could look at the man's face closely.

He looked just like the prince.

True, his one opened eye, for the other one was closed by a big vertical scar marring it, was blue instead of red, but the similarity was hard dismiss.

Although the man looked slightly more cheerful than the prince.

He smiled for starters, even if his smile was polite rather than joyful.

"I will answer all of your questions if I have time. I am an ally and I need to speak with your leader as soon as possible. "

"How can we trust you?" That was Mai, lured to the garden by the commotion they caused. She at least had her sword in front of her. Joey was nowhere to be seen and Yugi hoped that his friend was making sure Anzu and Serenity were safe.

"Ask Mahad who I am." The man answered, as if that explained everything. It didn't. Yugi was utterly confused. Just because the man knew Mahad's name was no reason to trust him.

The man made haste towards the entrance to the mansion and was stopped by Mai's sword.

"I am happy that now you seem to be more cautious, but I am on your side. I am..." But here, the man was interrupted.

"Mai!" That was the prince's voice.

Truly, the man had exceptional hearing. " Let him in." And just like that, Mai backed off, letting the stranger into the mansion.

"It must be bad if you are here in person." The prince started gesturing the man to follow him upstairs. " I will explain everything later." He said, addressing the rest of them still looking lost about what to do. "Yugi, come with me."

Yugi shared a doubtful look with Mana, but followed without a word.

He'd learned his lesson concerning prince's orders.

The three of them, the prince, the man, and Yugi reached the prince's room and came inside.

When Yugi closed the door, both men were already seated face to face as if drinking in each other's sight. They must have seen each other for the last time long ago, judging from their looks.

"Yugi, come here." Said the prince, patting the place on the bed next to him. Yugi obeyed. "Mahad is down, I needed a new advisor until he recovers." The prince explained, and the man nodded, clearly not interested.

"Duke is on the move. That boy that followed you actually told somebody just who he was following. The duke knows you are somewhere in the North. He started looking for you the moment your man disappeared."

"It is a short notice. Joey and the spy reached us yesterday, and here you are, morning after." At that, the man sneered.

"Your man didn't bother hiding the fact that he was from the North. When Haga, known Crawford's spy went to pursuit him, duke's people immediately put two and two together. " So, the boy's name was Haga. And he had someone to tell his mission to. Yugi noticed that the pain he felt yesterday while thinking about the boy now was somehow dulled. About time.

"So what you are saying is that we should move?" The man nodded.

The prince looked thoughtful, staring outside the window "It would be a hard thing to accomplish, especially considering Mahad's condition."

"We don't have much time. It took me seven hours to get to you, if duke is marching with at least one party it should take longer, but still, he will be here today." Yugi looked at the prince. Would they have to move from here? Abandon his parent's house?

What about Anzu, what about Serenity? Will they manage to hide in the woods? They had nowhere else to go, and judging from the prince's expression, he seemed to be aware of that.

"We must distract him then. Throw him off our tracks. We need to protect this house. We have not only Mahad, but also a blind girl to look after. Besides, I promised my hosts that to harm will come to them and that includes their house." A wave of awe and gratefulness filled Yugi's heart.

The prince wanted to protect them! To protect the house. To protect Yugi.

"So what's your plan?" The man sounded skeptical, as if he wasn't moved by the prince's words.

"Duke wants me. Not my people, me. I will give him what he wants." The prince smirked, and the very same smirk graced the stranger's features. Now they looked as if they were twins.

"You want to ride and meet him? "

"Why not?"

"What about light?" Yugi said, forgetting for a moment his place.

The two men looked at him for a moment, as if only now noticing his presence.

"You would be at disadvantage, right? Not to mention the lack of sleep. Adding to that few hours of riding, can you really challenge him?" He pressed on, concern lacing his words. He was sure that the prince was an exceptional and possibly very skilled fighter, but he was only human.

"He doesn't know about...?" The stranger started, but the prince silenced him with a glare.

"No. And he shouldn't. " Before Yugi could wonder what they were talking about, the prince turned to him. " I appreciate your concern, Yugi, but I don't plan on fighting him unless it's necessary. I want to invite him to a game." Involuntary shiver run up Yugi's spine, and this time he couldn't with full certainty say it was only because of fear and bad memories.

"You need to convince him that all of you have moved." The stranger pointed out.

"I am well aware. But I need someone to stay and protect everyone here." At that the stranger smiled. His smile was not as beautiful as the prince's, even though they seemed to share appearance.

"You haven't changed at all, my dear cousin. " He said and Yugi could see that he was proud. He said cousin...?

That would explain the similarities. But it was the first time Yugi even heard of prince's family.

"Should I have?" This question was heavy with something Yugi couldn't put his hands on.

"No." He answered quietly, yet the prince seemed to hear him, for he gave Yugi a look so warm that Yugi had to turn his eyes from the prince to avoid getting embarrassed. He was very unsuccessful.

Thankfully, prince's attention moved back to his cousin.

"I knew I had your support, Timaeus. I think I underestimated its extent." The prince said and the man, Timaeus, stood up.

"You will thank me later. Gather your team and we must go. My people are waiting for us in the town." With that, he stood up and left the room.

"Go get ready, Yugi. I want you to come with me." Yugi nodded simply and followed Timaeus out. He will have to tell Anzu... The gravity of what was going on hit Yugi suddenly. He was leaving his sister alone for the first time in his life. What's worse, he was going with the prince, that one person he trusted to protect them, while she was left there, alone.

Maybe he should ask...

No, Anzu wouldn't want to go. No, rather, she would want to go, but she would feel obliged to stay with Mahad. She would want to prove that she is brave and can do it, but she will be afraid, afraid for herself and afraid for Yugi.

Maybe he shouldn't tell her?

He came to his room, gathering few things he possessed that could be any use to him.

After a moment of thought, he also took both decks, keeping in mind that the prince mentioned playing a game. And he really hoped it won't be the same kind of game that Arkana had lost.

He will have to remember to take some bandages...

What was he even doing?

What use could he be on such a journey? He was not ready to fight, and he probably never will be, and frankly, he didn't think the prince needed an advisor now. So why did he tell Yugi to go?

 _If you truly want to understand, join me. I will show you the world through my perspective._

Was it the reason?

Before he could go away though, Yugi had something to do. He put everything he wanted to take into the first bag he could find and left his room.

He will have to talk to Anzu.

But before that, he had to talk to Mahad.

He approached the man's room silently, in case the wounded man was sleeping. For the same reason, Yugi didn't bother with knocking. He opened the door as quietly as he could, squinting his eyes to see in what condition room's occupant was.

"Hello." So Mahad wasn't asleep.

"I came here to..."

"Apologize?" Mahad didn't sound angry, only tired and Yugi couldn't blame him for it. The man almost died few hours ago. " There is no need to. I am sure that everyone else already talked to you about it and you've learned your lesson." Yugi nodded. " I do not have the energy to blame anybody right now. Is there anything else you want from me?"Yugi took that as an invitation and came closer, sitting on Mahad's bed.

"How are you feeling?" He got a small smile in response.

"I have been worse, though I don't remember when exactly. I will be all right in few days. I am not sure whether I will ever eat anything again, but aside from that I will live." Mahad joked and Yugi allowed himself a smile as well.

"That is good to hear. I hope Anzu will bake you her special pie. It could bring back the dead, it is to great!" He answered, trying not to look at the paleness evident on Mahad's face.

"I am certain. What's going on downstairs? I cannot move yet, but everyone left me and I am sure not because they don't care." Mahad's tone was still light, but Yugi was not fooled. The man knew something was wrong but he wanted to see how much Yugi himself knew and understood from proceedings.

Yugi was ready to verify his suspicions.

"Timaeus, the prince's cousin came. The duke of Devlin is searching for us and the prince wants to lead him on a merry chase and encounter him somewhere else, so that this mansion stays safe."

Mahad sighed.

"So it is that bad. It is going too fast." He said and made an attempt to get up. Yugi held him down and it was a testimony to how weak Mahad at the moment was. Normally, Yugi wouldn't be able to stop him from doing anything.

"Who is Timaeus? He said he knows you." It was a slight change of topic, but maybe it will distract Mahad from rushing down this instant.

"As you know, he is our prince's cousin. His mother, Ashayet is now the queen of Arcadia."

 _If he is a prince from a different country, what is he doing here_? When Yugi voiced this question, Mahad smiled.

"He organized a net of spies for us. We couldn't return to country without anything, just with ten people and good intentions. And Timaeus was always close to our prince. Though you will have to ask him why exactly is he here in person. I thought he was orchestrating things from Arcadia."

Another mystery. Exciting.

"The prince ordered me to go with them." That earned Yugi raised eyebrows as a response. Suddenly self-conscious, he continued." He said that he needs an advisor for a time being, until you are well."

"Oh, I'm sure he does." Replied Mahad with a secretive smile. Yugi wanted to ask, but thought better of it. After all, they didn't have much time.

He stood up to leave when the door burst open. It was Mana. Previous cheer was gone from her face.

"I am going with you." She said and something in her tone made Yugi bow his head to Mahad and leave the room. If he knew Mana as well as he thought, she came here to say her goodbye and Yugi was not going to step on the moment that was for Mana and Mahad alone. Especially if he himself hadn't say goodbye to his sister yet.

He came down to see Serenity in Joey's embrace.

"But you just came back!" She said, her voice muffled by Joey's shirt.

So Joey was going as well. If they were going to trick the duke that they are changing their hideout, the more the better. It would me more believable if Mana and Joey, people associated by the duke with their party were noticed. It would take the duke's attention off searching the hideout if the men he was after just came his way.

On his way to the kitchen Yugi passed Mai, and with a great relief he noticed that she was back to normal. She smiled at him and let him go, her cold demeanor from the night before long gone. That was good.

Then he entered the kitchen.

It was not often that Anzu was crying.

He immediately ran to her and hugged her, ignoring the clatter of cutlery falling.

"So you know." He started, hoping to get some reaction.

"Of course I know. Why must you go? You are not a fighter, you will only get hurt!" One part of Yugi was moved by her concern, but the other one, the one Yugi discovered only lately, was irritated.

True, he was younger than her and he was small and he himself doubted his every step, but that didn't mean he was useless! He might not be a knight, he might not be as wise as Mahad, but the prince chose him, told him he wanted Yugi on this journey. So he must be worth something.

"Anzu, you told me yourself. We are a part of it now. We cannot forever stay in house and wait for them to do everything by themselves." He said, carefully choosing words to avoid hurting Anzu even more. " You proved to be a great help, you saved Mahad's life. The only thing I did was to cause trouble. I want to redeem myself."

"You can't!" That hurt. " You won't redeem yourself if you are dead!"

"The prince believes in me, and so does Mahad. Why can't you?" This was not how Yugi envisioned saying goodbye, but on the other hand if it was other way around, he would probably feel the same. He wouldn't try to stop Anzu, but he would worry and fret and cry just as she did now. Though he would not doubt Anzu's strength, that he was sure of.

Anzu was amazing and strong in her own right. She took on murders of her stepfather and she convinced them to spare them. She restored the house single-handedly. She joined the rebellion and grew harder and stronger, while Yugi was lost in his doubts and uncertainty. It was now his time, his time to grow and change, to learn.

He told her as much, but she didn't seem to listen.

"What if something happens to you?" You _wouldn't be able to protect me if I stayed here_. He immediately regretted that thought.

"What if something happens to _you_? I'll not be alone, I'll have Mana, Timaeus, Joey. And the prince is coming with us. You are staying here with Mai and Serenity, protecting Mahad. If anyone is in danger, it is you." He pointed out.

There was no reply, just few quiet sobs.

After a while, the sobs stopped.

"I don't want you to go." Anzu raised her head and looked at Yugi with dry eyes.

"I know. I don't want to leave you. But it is something both of us must do, you said that." At that Anzu smiled.

"Sometimes I say stupid things." Yugi hugged her once again.

"I will definitely come back." He promised and after a while, Anzu nodded.

"I believe you."

Two figures entering the kitchen stopped them from saying anything else.

The prince was wearing his black armor again, golden pyramid glistening in the sunlight. Only now Yugi noticed that Timaeus was wearing a similar armor, though his was blue with a dragon instead of a pyramid hanging from his neck. Now they looked like brothers.

"We must make haste. Take care of yourself, Anzu." Said the prince and Yugi felt a pang of something he couldn't name when he saw the slight blush on his sister's face. That reminded him that apparently Anzu talked with the prince the night before, and that earlier prince addressed her as 'gracious hostess'. What happened between them?

No time to dwell on that.

They didn't have time for breakfast so Anzu packed them what she could find so that they would have something to eat on their way.

"What about the horses?" Yugi asked suddenly. There was five of them and only three horses counting Kuri and dragon who were in the stables.

"Like I said, there is someone waiting for us with the horses in the town. We will only need yours to reach the town. I will take Mana with me." Timaeus offered and Mana, who joined them few moment ago simply nodded.

"If my memory serves me well, it was her dream to ride with you into the sunset some time ago." The prince said, amused. Mana looked at him suspiciously.

"I don't remember anything like that. In fact, I do not remember your Highness at all." She said, addressing Timaeus.

"You wound me. You swore that when you grow up you will become my bride." Answered the man and to his credit, he did sound utterly forlorn.

Realization downed on Mana's face.

"Ach! You are Yos!" She shouted, blushing with embarrassment." I was six then, it doesn't count!" She turned to the prince who was now chuckling. But soon, his face shifted into serious frown.

"I will take Yugi. Joey, take Mai with you. She will return later with Anzu's horses." The prince commanded and just like that they were set to go.

Yugi hugged Anzu once more and was hugged by Serenity, and then he was off.

He and the prince mounted Dragon who seemed to be very pleased to be doing something else than just standing in the stable.

Kuri on the other hand looked at Joey tiredly, as if accusing him of wearing her down. She wasn't wrong. At last, she allowed Joey and Mai on her back, but she refused to go faster than trot.

"We must draw attention riding like that." Yugi observed, clinging to the prince's back.

"It doesn't matter anymore. We must get the duke as fast as we can, so that he doesn't reach this town. And any potential spy of Crawford will follow us, not bothering with the rest. We must play in open cards now." With that, the prince lapsed into silence.

Next to them, Joey was talking with Mai and Yugi couldn't help but listen.

"Take care of her, she adores you. I know you can protect them and that they are safe with you, but please, don't let Serenity feel left out."

"You now I won't. I care for her, in case you haven't noticed. Besides, she is your sister. Of course I will not let her worry." Joey seemed to be too shocked to speak and Yugi once again got a feeling that he intruding on something private.

They have finally reached the town and Yugi was quite shocked with who they met at the crossroads behind the town, waiting on them with horses.

It was Tristan the blacksmith.

"You were with us that whole time?"Yugi asked, jumping down from Dragon.

"I didn't know _you_ were with _us_ all that time." Tristan replied with a smile. " Here, take this one Yugi. It's name is Gazelle." Here, he gave Yugi the reigns of a big, brown, wild looking horse with mane resembling that of a lion.

"It looks... Wild." Yugi observed weakly, wondering if he will get killed here and then, by his own horse.

"But he is loyal." Said Timaeus, patting the beast. " They are all that we were able to rescue from my cousin's bastion after he 'committed suicide'." Here, distaste marred Timaeus' face.

Yugi remembered now that indeed, he heard that Aknadin's sister refused to acknowledge the prince's death. And somebody mentioned his cousin as well...

"Valkyria!" That was Mana, hugging another brown horse. " I thought I lost her forever!" She exclaimed., taking animal's reigns from Tristan.

"They are all yours, Your Highness?" The prince just nodded absent-mindedly, looking at the ginger, almost red horse in front of him. The horse was staring at its owner curiously, as if trying to figure out whether he knows the man before him.

Finally, the prince said its name, as if he had just remembered it.

"Osiris." And the horse bowed its head and came to him.

"Surprised?" Asked Timaeus, petting his own horse.

"I never dreamed of seeing them again." Replied the prince honestly, awe evident in his voice.

The horse must've meant much to him, if he could recall its name and not his own, Yugi thought.

He jumped on Gazelle, hoping that he or she, he forgot to ask, would take to its new rider. Gazelle for now decided to ignore him. Yugi thought that it was better option than plain hostility.

Joey was getting on a gray horse that according to Tristan was one of his own going by the name of Barbarian. 

"Take that one to Mahad, it will cheer him up." The prince commanded, and Mai tied the reigns of yet another black horse to Kuri's.

"It was his, am I right?" She asked and Mana turned to her with a big smile on her face.

"Yes. This is Chaos, the wisest of horses." She said proudly, patting the horse's neck affectionately.

"I will bring him to Mahad. Take care, all of you." Mai said and with a last look at the prince, she took off.

"She was never one for big words and teary goodbyes." Mana sighed and got on her own horse. "Are you coming with us?" She addressed Tristan, who in turn looked embarrassed.

"No, I will stay here, keep an eye on... things."

 _Namely Joey's sister_ , Yugi thought and chuckled silently.

"Good. Now, off we go." The prince commanded and without any much ado, they headed for Devlin, hoping to catch the duke before it's too late.

With wind blowing into his face, with horses galloping beside him, Yugi felt happy once again.

Gone were his worries and troubles, gone was his goal. For now he was finally going on an adventure, he is finally taking part instead of just watching.

The sun was shining and his friends were beside him.

And no matter what happens next, nothing will change that for now, he was feeling powerful.


	11. Chapter 11

Hi everybody, thank you so much for staying with me!

I hope you will like this chapter as well, we are finally getting some Prince/Yugi times!

I know that iIm updating irregularly and frequently, but I really want to finish this story before I have to get back to work, so that I can be sure I won't abandon it due to lack of time. I hope you don't mind ^^"

Also, once again, thank you all for your comments, they are very precious to me!

Enjoy!

* * *

He left.

For the first time in her life, Anzu was alone.

They were supposed to be always together. She should've gone with him.

No. He should've stayed with her. He should've stayed with Mahad, with Serenity, in the house where he would be safe, where he could help.

He should be here with her, dreaming up possible scenarios of what would happen if they win. He should be joking with Mai about Mana's lack of cooking skills, he should be laughing in his own room with Anzu.

Yugi's place was here.

But he went to face the duke, because the prince wished it. Why would he need Yugi?

Anzu sighed.

They were gone, there was no point in questioning it now. Besides, it was only three hours. And they will know if something happened, right? The news travelled fast.

"Stop fretting, Anzu." She looked up from the book she was trying to read and came face to face with Mai. "I know it looks as if the boys went away to slay enemies and we are left here to worry about them, but life is not books." She said as she said down next to Anzu.

"What can we do then? Prepare the house for the siege? Slay a giant?" She joked, trying to get away from her own thoughts.

"Maybe." There was a dangerous twinkle in Mai's eye as she said it.

"What do you mean?"

"Why should we just stay here, pretending we are not worried when we can do something much more useful? Oh, don't look at me like that." She said noticing Anzu doubtful look." You and Serenity are not exactly best actresses here, your worry is evident. We can take some of your worries off by working."

"Working?"

Here, Mai rolled her eyes." Don't turn into Joey. Yes, working. We can move on with your training, Mahad is well enough to tutor Serenity, and I can introduce both of you to some other arts that would be useful later, if I know our prince as well as I think." Anzu was immediately reminded of the conversation she overheard ( _shamelessly eaves-dropped on_ ) in the morning. If what Mai said then was true, then she was now still trying to make amends for what happened.

And besides, she hit the core of Anzu's concerns - feeling useless.

Yes, she was genuinely worried for her brother, but at the same time, now she could admit it, she felt envious. He was deemed worthy and important by the prince while she, who had done much more, was left behind. Not that Yugi was unimportant, gods no! But she thought... She thought that she had proven herself already, like Yugi said. Apparently not.

Or maybe he really was getting a chance to prove himself, and she didn't because she already had?

Her emotions were in turmoil, she almost forgot that a human heart can feel so many at once. Everything would be all right the moment Yugi comes back unscathed. Yes, everything will be back to normal then.

Except not.

He was getting more and more attached to the prince, he was attached to the rest of the knights, just like Anzu was. And with them he will change.

Maybe when, _don't think 'if'_ , he comes back, he will not be the same. Maybe she was stupid to think that their relationship would not be affected, maybe...

Stop. Enough.

She can prove her worth here with Mai's guidance, and wait for Yugi with all kindness and love he deserves. He promised her he will come back.

And maybe she really was overbearing and overprotective of him... Maybe he was feeling smothered, or worse, he thought she didn't believe in him and his strength? It wasn't like that, she was sure that he was strong, she herself envied him the strength of his spirit... But he was her baby brother.

She should let go of thinking him as a child. Neither of them was a child anymore.

"What do you have in mind?" She asked, new determination flowing in her veins. Mai's smile got wider.

"Can I borrow this book?"

Anzu, perplexed gave her the book.

The _Cinderella_ engraved on the leather cover glimmered in the sunlight.

/

Yugi's enthusiasm lowered with every hour.

He had thousands of questions and no one but himself to answer them.

Timaeus and the prince were riding together, once in a while exchanging words in that strange language of the capital, while Joey and Mana acted as scouts.

Only now did the absurdity of what they were about to do got to him. How the five of them could go against a whole party that according to Timaeus was coming at them? And how they could know which way would duke pick? Where will he be looking for them? What if they just pass each other on the way? And who could guarantee that the duke would agree to play a game instead of using his strength in numbers to destroy the prince utterly?

Yugi was fed up with not knowing.

He decided to trust in the people around him and let go of his thoughts.

After all, it was his first time outside of town. When he was really small he had gone with his mother and Anzu to the port to see his father off, but that was it about his travels outside the house. Once they went to see Grandma in West, but Yugi could not recall much from it, so he took in everything they passed on their way.

It was strange, to see so many people, so many towns and villages and not recognize anything. At first, it filled Yugi with some kind of dread. He always knew that the world was bigger than what he saw every day, but it was two different things to know and to see. During their few escapes from Arkana, Anzu and Yugi managed only to come as far as the tower of the guard, less than 3 miles from their town. So for him, what he saw now riding through the seemingly endless fields was plainly amazing.

Anzu would want to see them too.

He will show her everything when it's over. They will travel the whole country, they will see the capital, maybe they will visit neighboring countries...

"You seem distracted." When Yugi lifted his head he saw that the prince was now riding next to him, Timaeus leading them, few yards ahead. Prince's face was grim and Yugi could not dismiss the obvious signs of discomfort. The sun, filling Yugi with joy, for the prince seemed to be a torture.

"Yes, Your Highness. I am thinking about the duke..." The prince nodded.

"And what troubles you?"

When Yugi voiced his concerns, the prince smiled slightly.

"See. I told you, you will make a great strategist some day." Yugi felt heat on his cheeks from the praise, but remained silent. " You are right, there is a possibility that duke will try to take us down the moment he sees us. I talked with Timaeus, he will take care of it." Yugi wanted to ask, but the prince continued. "Finding the duke would be our greatest problem. There are few roads he could pick and it depends on what Joey's carelessness told him, which one he will choose. Timaeus' people went to aid Ishizu so we cannot count on them to observe the party's movement and simply warn us."

"What do we do, then?" The prince gestured to the horizon.

"In about half an hour we will come to the main Northern tract. There we will split, each choosing different path. There is a great possibility that duke's men have already passed the Maze City and we must lure them there back. In the town, the rules will be on our side." Yugi nodded. He had no idea what rules the prince was talking about, but he trusted the man's judgment as long as it wasn't about people's lives.

"I promised you safety, so you will go with me." Yugi's heart skipped a beat at that, but the prince had already turned towards Mana approaching him with report from her scouting.

From what Yugi heard, there were no sightings of any party passing through these lands yet. They weren't too late. That was a relief.

When they've reached the crossroads, the prince told his plan to Joey and Mana. They seemed to agree with it, although Joey had some trouble with remembering how to get to the Maze City. Yugi had never thought about it before, but Joey probably haven't left their little town as well, at least after his father died.

"Be careful, Yugi." He said finally when he started on his own path. " I trust you to keep him safe, Your Highness." He bowed his head to the prince and went on his way.

"So... We'll see each other in the Maze City, right?" Asked Mana, her enthusiasm sounding forced.

"I certainly hope so." The prince answered." Come, Yugi. "Timaeus just waved at them, joining Mana for a moment to tease her about something, judging from her outraged shouts. They seemed to get along quite well, considering they haven't seen each other since they were kids.

"Good luck, Mana!" Yugi shouted as goodbye and followed the prince to the forest they were supposed to ride through.

The moment they entered the woods, Yugi understood why the prince picked this way. It was much darker, the sunrays barely shining through the trees, so that he could hardly see a thing. The prince immediately looked more at ease.

Yugi didn't know why, but he himself also felt better, now that there was only two of them. He trusted Joey and Mana, but the same couldn't be said about the prince's cousin.

"Your Highness?" He tried, hoping that the prince would not feel offended by mere boy doubting his royal kin. On the other hand, he asked Yugi to be his advisor. So that was Yugi's job to point out any possible threats.

"Yes, Yugi?"

"Why is Timaeus helping us?" The prince was taken aback by the question. He was silent for a while, as if debating with himself. Yugi for am moment wondered, whether he should have call Timaeus by his royal title. It didn't fit him.

The prince turned towards Yugi.

"Truth is, I don't know. I asked him for help when we were in Arcadia, and he promised to aid me. We were always pretty close, at least from what I remember from before, so it is no wonder that he'd side with us, especially if his mother is against Aknadin. Yet you are right, his spies would have been enough. He has to have some other motive to be here. I don't doubt his loyalty." Here, the prince gave Yugi a significant look, which informed Yugi about eventual consequences of Yugi doubting the royal cousin.

"Yet I think there is something else in motion and we must keep our eyes and ears open."

"As you wish, Your Highness."

They rode in silence for a while. The forest seemed to have no end and Yugi highly doubted that any troops would want to go through it, even if it was the quickest way to their town. On the other hand, if duke knew about prince's aversion to the light, and didn't know where the prince was, he could just assume that they were hiding in a forest of some kind.

His thoughts went back to the problem with Timaeus. He truly seemed honest and honorable, and Yugi felt bad for suspecting him of anything, but there was something that was not adding up. Why would an heir to the throne of one country aid heir of a different one with spies, but not an army? True, family relations and all that, but looking at the prince's history, royalty usually didn't care much for blood where it came to talking the throne. Was Timaeus trying to usurp the throne? What was his angle? And why was he here alone, without his knights?

"We should stop for a moment." Came the prince's voice, and Yugi noticed that they were standing on a small meadow with a little stream splashing nearby. " The horses deserve a break."

Yugi agreed and jumped down from Gazelle.

True to Timaeus' words, the horse despite its appearance didn't betray any internal need of stomping on Yugi or killing him in any other violent manner. It would take a while until he could get used to it for good, but there was some kind of understanding here. Mostly because Gazelle seemed to be as tired as Yugi felt most of the time.

Yugi could ride a horse, but usually it was a recreational hobby, not a way of transportation. He could feel the aching of his muscles and wondered, if he would be able to get back on the horse without crying in pain.

If he only could, he would rest here for few hours, he would take a nap, eat something and then try.

Unfortunately, they couldn't afford such luxuries.

He reached for the bag Anzu gave them, to get food, but his hand found his own bag instead. His both decks were on the surface and without thinking, Yugi took them out.

He went on with his task, and with disappointment he noticed that most of the food Anzu gave them was meant to be cooked or roasted, unless they wanted to eat raw meat. He was ready to give up, when he noticed apples. He took them out and approached the prince, intending to share his findings with the man.

The prince was busy talking to his horse in a quiet voice and only when Yugi came nearer, he could hear that strange language. The horse however seemed to understand it, or at least be accustomed to it. The animal was touching its head to the prince's affectionately, and Yugi was now sure that it must've belonged to the prince in the past.

He offered the apple to the man, but he refused it with a shake of his head.

"I got him for my fifteenth birthday." Yugi was unprepared for this, so he just murmured something in agreement. " It's a wonder he remembers me, we were parted one year later." A that Yugi almost gasped.

The prince was sixteen when he was captured and put in darkness by his own uncle. That was... shocking.

And Yugi could only blame himself for being ignorant of this . The prince seemed to be only slightly older than Anzu, so he must've been quite young when all of that happened.

Only now the true gravity of prince's cruel fate was clear to Yugi; it truly was no wonder that the man came out almost insane. A wave of sympathy hit Yugi.

He truly didn't know what to feel for the prince at the moment, his previous two images of the man were now joined by the third, one of a young boy betrayed by his own kin, left alone in complete darkness with no one but himself and his thoughts as companions.

Yugi feared the prince.

He admired the man.

He pitied the boy.

But they were all in one person, and Yugi wasn't sure how to describe his feelings for that person.

All he knew was that he felt safe and afraid at the same time, sure that the prince will protect him from anything.

Anything, aside from himself.

Like a rabbit who befriended a wolf, he was sure no other predator could ever harm him. Other than the wolf.

And yet, he didn't want to run.

Far from it.

He briefly wondered whether Anzu also felt this way about the prince, and the same pang of jealousy he felt before, came back.

He always shared everything with Anzu. They were together throughout their childhood, they were together when Arkana came. They shared blood, parents, memories and home. And he treasured and loved all of this, but couldn't he keep the prince just for himself? Couldn't he have someone who treated Yugi as something special? Someone with whom he could share memories and conversations just of their own?

For a while, he had that. His evening talks and games with the prince, their night walks.

And then, Anzu went behind Yugi's back and now she also shared a 'conversation of their own with the prince.'

She had no right...

Jealousy quickly turned into guilt and shame, just like it did before.

She had every right, and the prince was a person. Yugi couldn't demand of him to only pay attention to Yugi.

But he could dream.

"You are silent." The prince observed, and Yugi came back to reality.

"I am sorry, Your Highness.." He started, but the prince just shook his head.

"No need to apologize. What's on your mind?"Yugi's mind was frantically searching for something that would not give away what was he really thinking about. Something, anything. Timaeus was out of question, so was Anzu... _Ah, found it!_

" You seem confident that the duke would want to play a game with you instead of just killing us all, Your Highness. Why?" At that, the prince chuckled, a twinge of something dark in his voice.

"Yugi, that's why I want you to be here with me." Yugi's traitorous heart skipped a beat at that."  
I want you to see what I see. The duke is just a man. And as a man, he has his fallacies. For example, he worships Crawford, his teacher. And Crawford long ago proclaimed that the only person who could be worthy of Crawford's praise is me."

"Why... Not that I doubt his words!" Yugi rushed to say. That startled a small laugh from the prince.

"Because Crawford is not a fighter. He can handle a sword, but that's it. He is a strategist. A very good one, the best if you asked me. He taught Otogi, the future Duke of Devlin, everything he knew. Yet strategy cannot be taught. It is a skill, it is thinking not only ahead, but also at the moment, finding new solutions as you stand, changing them according to the situation." Yugi wondered, why he never noticed before how wise the prince was. Then he remembered what 'wise' meant for the prince, and abandoned the thought.

"Otogi is good at planning. But he cannot improvise. And because he thinks only ahead, he is predictable and quite lost when something doesn't go according to plan. Crawford noticed it. Around that time I was fighting the Clan of Ogres on our Southern borders." Yugi had no idea, what Clan of Ogres was, but he was getting used to his lack of knowledge.

"We prepared an ambush, but things didn't go as I predicted. Our ambush changed into theirs. But we managed to get out due to a simple trick. The story got around and Crawford told Otogi that I had something Otogi will never have. That was enough to set the duke off." The prince left Osiris and sat down near the stream, gesturing Yugi to follow him.

"Otogi tried to challenge me to prove Crawford wrong. I declined, because I had better things to do with my time. Now he sees the chance to bring me to Crawford humiliated and defeated. He is desperate for his teacher's praise, so I assume he will come out of his way to get me. Crawford is almost like a father to him."

Was it really so simple? Were people truly that predictable, could one man foresee their moves, as if they were just figures in a game- if you know the way they move, you can predict what they do? Were people nothing more? Was Yugi nothing more?

"Are you better than Crawford?" He asked instead.

The prince laughed darkly.

Then, the red eyes bored into Yugi's own with a strange, almost unreal force.

"What do you think?" Any other person would say that they don't know, or would try to stay modest. But not the prince, who was brilliant in his arrogance. Yes, it was arrogance, but since he had never lost, it was somehow justified and Yugi couldn't fault him for that.

Besides, not that Yugi had any experience, but from what he could see, the prince was probably right. If he planned his moves like he did in cards, then he truly must be exceptional. On the other hand, Crawford, that nameless, faceless for Yugi threat, was something unknown and dangerous. The prince was talking about him with a dose of respect, and that was new.

"I want us to play a game as long as we are waiting here." Yugi perked up at that and reached to his pockets for the decks he took from his bag. He immediately handed the Falcon one to the prince.

"What shall we play?" He asked excitedly. That! That was something only for him and the prince, something that they shared with themselves and no one else!

"Something new. I call it 'Sacrifice'." Feeling of dread entered Yugi's heart. That sounded... Dark and it evoked unpleasant memories. He had never played this game before, but considering past events, Yugi wasn't sure if he's going to like it.

"The rules are quite simple. You deal all the cards. Both players must protect their hearts. A player who ends the game with less hearts on the hand, loses. We throw the cards as we want, of course, color to color: spades to spades, clubs to clubs, simple, right?" Yugi nodded. It sounded nice enough, so why the name? "But. If you run out of the color your opponent is setting on the table, you must give him one of hearts." Now, Yugi understood. The game was meant to provoke the opponent to give away the hearts by finding out, which color was the shortest on opponent's hand. To win, aside from luck, one must pay attention to which cards were already played. If there were fifty-two cards in the deck, then there were thirteen of each color, so he only had to remember...

"However. Since you are supposed to be learning here, let's make the game more interesting." The memories of prince's previous 'interesting games' flashed through Yugi's mind. But the prince couldn't possibly mean...

"Every queen you have is Anzu. Every queen I have, is Mana. Your King is Joey, my king is Mahad. Your ace is Haga, my ace is Panic. " That gave Yugi a pause. What was the point? It didn't change the rules so...

And then, it hit him.

The prince was teaching him strategy.

If the hearts were people, the kingdom subjects, it was their job to protect them, only this way they could win. To protect the hearts, they will have to use different cards, sacrificing them for the sake of hearts. And by giving the cards names...

It was prince's way of explaining his choices to Yugi. But why did he pick Haga and Panic as aces? Shouldn't the ace be the strongest, the dearest, most protected card?

They started their game.

Yugi had eight hearts on his hand. That meant that the prince had only five. With advantage of two cards, Yugi should have a chance to win.

He looked at his other cards. He had plenty of clubs and very few spades, and not much more diamonds. But if he had the majority of clubs, then prince's hand was short on them. It was almost too easy.

He started with jack of clubs.

He had the queen and the king, so the prince could only give ten or something smaller. He would run out of clubs soon enough.

Then, when only queen and king are left of Yugi's clubs, he will start with diamonds, saving his Anzu and Joey and getting prince's hearts. It was not that complicated.

"It's mine." Said the prince simply, and took the jack with his ace of clubs.

"Why?" Yugi asked, not understanding. Weren't they trying to protect aces, kings and queens? Shouldn't they...

And then it downed on him.

"That's why aces are Panics and Hagas." He said, looking into prince's eyes, searching for confirmation. At the moment, they were just sparkling with curiosity." They are the easiest to sacrifice and can inflict damage on their own color." Triumphant look in the prince's eyes told Yugi that he was right.

So the prince really did look at life as a game of cards.

Everything he did, he did to protect his subjects, his hearts. And surprisingly, without the human factor, Yugi understood. They played for a while, and Yugi without hesitation sacrificed his Hagas and his knights, his ordinary cards. At some point, he sacrificed his Joey's and once, one of his queens.

He never won, but he quickly noticed, that if he was too caught up in protecting his cards, he lost hearts. The more he sacrificed his cards, the more hearts he managed to save.

Was that the only difference between him and the prince?

Shift of focus?

Was Yugi caring too much about cards while the prince cared about hearts?

Was that why their beliefs differ so much?

Yugi observed the prince as stealthily as he could during their game, but there was nothing on man's face that could betray any hesitation.

Was it planning ahead?

Was it improvisation?

During their seventh, or eighth round, the prince jumped to his feet.

"They are coming." He whispered and ran to Osiris, leading the animal out of the meadow into the shadows of the trees.

Yugi's heart flared with panic, how could they go against the whole party? What was he even doing here? They should run, they should... He followed the prince, trying to find any spot to hide. They've been found!

"Yugi, listen to me now." Yugi immediately calmed himself down, focusing on the worried note in the prince's tone. "I want you to take Osiris now, leave Gazelle here. They won't do him any harm." Yugi's mind couldn't exactly process what the prince was saying, for he too could now hear the noise of few dozen feet marching towards them.

"Yugi!" The prince urged, and Yugi tried once again to focus on his words." Ride to the Maze City, inform Timaeus and the rest that I've been taken and I'll try to steer duke to the city. If we do not appear tomorrow, tell Timaeus to find you and your family a shelter. Do you understand?" Yugi nodded. " We shall be at the Paradox Fields tomorrow, wait for me there." Yugi nodded once again, understanding the words, but not meaning behind them. Why was the prince talking as if he was going to stay?

"Good. Now, take this." Here, the prince took off his golden pyramid and put its chain around Yugi's neck. It was quite heavy, Yugi thought, and then, he heard the horns blowing.

"It is just in case. Protect it. It's my heirloom, without it, I am nothing." White panic filled Yugi's head.

"I cannot... What can I.. I am weak...!" He was silenced with strong arms being put around him. The embrace grounded him somehow, his heartbeat still erratic, but his mind clearer than before.

"You are far stronger than you give yourself credit for. I chose you, because I trust you to do what is right. Now, go." Then, he let go of Yugi. Still shocked, his nerves flaring with need to bolt and disappointment at the loss of contact, Yugi nodded and jumped on Osiris' back. The prince said something to the horse in his language, and turned on his feet, heading back to the meadow.

It was as if he knew, as if everything...went..according to plan...

"Did you know? Did you know that he will find you here? That's why you sent everyone else to different roads?"

The prince's response was in his arrogant, self-assured smirk.

"Go, Yugi."

And Yugi did not argue.

He kicked Osiris' sides and as fast as he could, turned in the direction of the crossroads. The pyramid was heavy on his chest, hitting him with every jump Osiris made.

He was almost out of the forest when he heard the triumphant cheers coming from behind.

But he didn't stop.

It was the game of 'Sacrifice' and it was the prince's gambit.

All Yugi could do was to swallow the tears running down his cheek, calm his mind and go to the Maze City, hanging on his faith in the best strategist in the world.

* * *

So, I wanted to ask you guys, just out of curiosity:

Any ideas what Timaeus' motives are?

Who do you think is right? The prince, or Yugi? Whose worldview is closer to yours?

Also, there's no game called 'Sacrifice', I made it up from the rules of Polish card game 'Kierki' and my own invention, and I cannot guarantee it works as a game, I'd have to check that someday, so if you see any logical mistakes, please forgive me.


	12. Chapter 12

When asked later, Yugi couldn't explain how he got to the Maze city. He knew that he arrived on horse, yes, but he simply couldn't remember the road. His mind was blank, focused only on getting to the city and nothing else. He couldn't afford thinking about anything else.

Sure, he noticed the forests and villages he was passing on his way, he even managed to exchange greetings with other travelers, but he did it mechanically, not registering what he was seeing and doing.

He arrived at the Maze City in the evening. But he had no time to catch his breath because as he entered the city he realized that he had no idea where to look for his companions.

In fact, he did not know where to look for any people at the moment. The city looked empty, if it wasn't for the lights in the windows. Yugi had never heard of the Maze city before, and once again he regretted his lack of knowledge. He had no idea where he was and how to get to those Paradox Fields, or anywhere else. And he had no one to ask, because the streets were empty.

He dismounted Osiris, risking patting its head.

The beast seemed to be as proud as its owner, for it ignored Yugi completely, giving him something Yugi interpreted as unimpressed glance. He had to find somewhere to sleep, provided he cannot find his friends first.

He looked around the city. It was dark, and even though the houses were beautifully designed, the whole city looked cold. Yugi started to make his way along the broadest street, looking for any kind of tavern or an inn. But the further he went into the city, the less buildings he could find.

And still no people.

Finally, he reached a bigger space that in a normal city would serve as a market place. But here, it proved to be the namesake of the city- the whole place was taken by a giant maze.

Yugi could not see how long its walls were, for he could not find now the place where the city ended and the Maze started. It was like the city was just a porch for the construction; its integral part,yet different and more inviting. The maze was imposing and dark, not at all welcoming.

The light of lamps illuminated at least three entrances to the maze, and as far as Yugi could see, they were the only source of light within the maze. He had no chance of going through it now. Of course, assuming that there was something behind the maze.

Suddenly feeling exhausted, Yugi sat down.

He was lost.

And for the first time in a while, he was alone.

Anzu was far away. Mana and Joey were somewhere in the city, but he had no means of finding them. Of course, he could just knock on every door and ask whether people saw them, but bringing attention to them being here was probably unwise.

All he could do, was wait.

They should be patrolling city, waiting for the prince's arrival, right?

And the prince himself should be here soon, he reasoned

Yugi looked at the pyramid he was still carrying on his neck. He knew that it was a symbol of the royal line. He never would have thought that he would be the one carrying it someday, even for a while. Maybe he will be the last one to carry it...

He hated waiting. Waiting made him think.

Why did the prince hand it to him? If he knew that he would be taken by duke's men, why didn't he give it to Timaeus? He had more rights to carry it than Yugi did. Then again, maybe the prince didn't trust Timaeus too much. He had said that he was unsure of his cousin's motives.

Probably the first thing the prince was unsure of.

Yugi had plenty of things to be unsure of. He didn't know where exactly he was, he didn't know where his friends were, so he had every reason to be unsure about his fate. He was unsure whether he will come back home at all, or if his fate ended here, on a cold night in a cold city, waiting for a man that probably wasn't coming back.

Like Yugi's father.

He hadn't thought about his father in a while, but loneliness and darkness brought back memories. And memories, once triggered, were impossible to stop.

He and Anzu never bothered with fearing that their father would not return. He always did, so why should they fear? It was as simple as that. When he did return, sometimes after weeks, sometimes after months, he always had some kind of presents for them and a story of his troubles. Soon Anzu figured out that dad couldn't have really fought any dragons or chimeras on his way, mostly because those beasts did not exist, but it didn't stop Yugi or Anzu from enjoying father's stories.

There was no one like their father. Even their mother was always so sure of his success, of his return that she also never seemed to be fretting whenever he wasn't there. Yes, she sometimes sat down with her children in the living room to read father's old journals, but she did that out of longing, not nervousness.

She simply wanted him to be with them again, and Anzu and Yugi shared that sentiment. Books, toys and clothes were nice, but there was nothing better than dad back home.

He always took them riding in the woods, their whole family playing tag on the meadow or going swimming in the lake deep down in the forest. Dad had wonderful sense of direction, so even if they forgot to take a map with them, they were never lost.

Dad never fell ill, at least as far as Yugi remembered and he was the strongest in the town, because he won with everybody during the spring festive, besting other men at wrestling.

Yugi's father was his hero.

And heroes always come home.

But there was this one time when something went wrong.

Dad usually left at the end of spring and returned at the beginning of autumn, because that was the time of best winds.

So they waited for him, as they always did, at the porch, looking at the leaves falling slowly from their trees.

They waited even when the trees were already bare, Anzu and Yugi both wondering, what sort of story dad will bring with him to explain his lateness. They were missing him now; the house, even though Mum was with them, was never the same without him.

And then the snow fell.

There was never the time when the snow fell and dad wasn't with them. They usually built two castles, one for Anzu and Yugi, the second for Mum and Dad, so that they could play princes and princesses and having snow fights.

Dad was always there when the first snow fell. It was his duty. He had to be there.

Anzu felt betrayed, and Yugi, by then trying to be just like her, felt the same.

Dad was not where he was supposed to be.

They begged mother to write and hurry Dad up, to tell him that they, his children, were disappointed in him, because he always reprimanded them for being late and now he himself was so late!

Mother laughed at that, but for some reason, her laughter didn't sound right. She did send a letter though.

There was no reply, and Yugi started to worry. Maybe Dad didn't like them anymore? Maybe he thought they were too naughty, too loud and he decided he didn't want such children?

Anzu assured him, that even if they made Dad mad somehow, he would never leave Mum. Still, she was worried as well, her mind full of possible reasons for father's lateness. For a while, they thought that maybe, dad wasn't joking with his stories and he was now a prisoner of some thieves, or some warriors from other countries? Maybe some pirates took his ship and now he was fighting with his crew to get it back?

The reply to the letter came few weeks later.

Along with father's glasses and his latest journal, soaked in water.

It was all the crew, or rather that few men that survived, managed to save.

There was a horrible storm on their way back and although their captain tried everything he could, he was unable to save the ship. It went down with more than a hundred men. The letter said that Mr. Mutou was at that time recovering from some kind of influenza and he was under the deck, with the rest of patients. None of them survived, only those few who jumped to the longboat in time somehow made through.

And Yugi's father was not one of them.

In the end, he was only a man.

The Yugi in the present didn't even notice when he started crying.

He was alone in the darkness, waiting for someone who won't come.

Heroes didn't exist, it was human mind that gave them life, it was only Yugi's imagination that created his heroes.

His father never returned.

And the prince won't either.

Out of nowhere, it started to rain. Soon, Yugi's tears disappeared in the streams of raindrops.

Osiris neighed at him in indignation, demanding probably some kind of shelter.

"We have nowhere to go. We are alone here." He told the horse. The beast just looked at him with disappointment, as if it had thought that Yugi could do better. Because its rightful master would. The prince wouldn't be sitting here, useless, alone and powerless. He would break free, he would find a way. Yugi was not the prince, and possibly never be, no matter how he wanted to. But he swore to himself earlier that he will prove his usefulness. That he won't give up easily.

New determination entered his heart.

"You are right." Yugi said, standing up.

He had to think.

He won't wait alone, making up horrible scenarios, he won't!

Even if the prince was not coming back, Osiris and pyramid had to reach Mana. And then, Yugi will go home, to his sister.

He looked at the entrances to the maze. A good maze has more than one correct path and it shouldn't matter which entrance Yugi chose, he should still be able to find the correct way out of the maze.

The prince said something about the rules of the city. If the city was called 'Maze' it would be safe to assume that the rules had something to do with the maze, right? Maybe the true city was hidden inside the maze?

Even if not, Mana and the rest should be inside the maze, there was no better place to hide.

Yugi jumped on Osiris' back and headed for the first entrance. Next to the gate, there was "Right" written on the stone. Which was funny, considering that the entrance was on the left, looking from the city. He rode to the next entrance. It had "Left" written on it.

Perplexed, Yugi headed for the third gate. As he thought, the next gate also had "Right" engraved.

It was a riddle.

He was wrong before, this maze had only one correct entrance, judging from the clues. But how to find out, which was the correct one?

The gate on the left proclaimed 'Right'. Did it mean 'I'm the right one'? Or 'Go on the right side?'. But why then would the gate on the right also have the same inscription on it? There couldn't be two right gates, if there are clues. And why did the middle one proclaim it was 'left'? The one 'left' behind? 'Left from equation'? Or simply 'on the left'?

 _Think._

 _Looking from the city, the one of the left is lying._

 _The one on the right is not._

 _But what is the middle one doing here?_

 _It is on the left only in regards of the right gate._

 _Why isn't it called 'middle'? Why is it 'left'? Looking from the city it is on the left only to..._

 _Looking from the city..._

 _But the maze has other end, doesn't it?_

 _And looking from that other end... The middle gate is on the left of the left gate!_

 _The gates on right and left change their truth- value depending on which side you are on. One is always lying, one is always telling the truth._

 _The middle one is always true, because it is always on the left for one of the gates._

Yugi exhaled.

Was he right?

That remained to be seen. It was his best guess right now, and anything was better than sitting here in almost complete darkness and rain, doing absolutely nothing.

Without hesitation, Yugi guided Osiris to the middle gate.

His clothes were already soaked, and he was growing hungry. Judging from Osiris' neighs, the horse was also fed up with their current predicament. This was their best guess.

"Trust me on this. We are getting to them." He informed the horse and they both entered the darkness of the middle passage.

/

It was dark once again.

At first, if he remembered correctly, he was afraid of this darkness. It filled his vision, it filled his ears. There was nothing, just him, walls, floor and darkness. Sometimes, he could hear something behind him and he would jump to his feet, trying to protect himself. But soon, he had no energy to do so.

Darkness was frightful. It was everywhere, and even people who brought him foods went unnoticed by him. They were silent and no matter how he tried, he couldn't see them. He could see nothing.

His nightmares, at first full of colours and sounds, slowly became dark and muted, almost undistinguishable from the reality. The darkness hid his reality and his dreams from him, making it hard to say whether he was awake or not. Whether monster were real or not.

He had no idea how long he had been there. But after some time, his fear lessened. His eyes got accustomed to the lack of light. He still couldn't see a thing, but at least he was no longer terrified by that. Rats, the sources of that dreadful sounds, were only interested in his food, too afraid to attack him.

He recalled trying to _remember_.

But no matter how long he tried, he could not figure out why his uncle did that to him.

He was not evil. He just fulfilled father's orders. He gathered his friends and under the supervision of Shada, he made sure that the law was listened to. _You have to see if your orders leave the palace chambers_ , his father had said, and he wanted to do just that. Sure, sometimes he was a little harsh, but he was merciful when the occasion called.

Why then?

He remembered his uncle's men swarming into his chambers, Aknadin telling him that his father was dead, and then, there was nothing. Just this darkness.

He woke up to it, and started to cry, fearing that he was dead or blind, left somewhere alone. But then, the prison guard came to him carrying a torch and a plate with bread. It was the first, and the last time he had seen light in his underground prison. Other guards were accustomed to darkness and never bothered to bring torches with them.

They also never spoke to him, no matter how long he asked them, almost begged them to reply.

At first, he tried speaking to himself, to keep his throat working. He recited poems and fragments of books, to save himself from forgetting the words. He dictated out loud letters to Mahad and Mana, to save their names from the darkness, to protect his friends from the consuming abyss in which his own name had disappeared.

When he woke up from his nightmares filled with nameless, faceless monsters eating him from inside, he often screamed his father's name.

Soon, he stopped screaming.

No one heard him.

No one was looking for him.

He was truly, utterly alone.

He had plenty of time to think. To think why his own uncle, the man who gave him his first sword, who helped him escape from kitchen unnoticed, would betray him.

He quickly figured it out.

The king is dead, long live the king.

He was almost old enough to take the crown after his dead father and uncle decided that he was more worthy than a prince, the only child of the late king.

In the darkness, what before was repulsing and scary, now became logical.

Of course, if he wanted the crown, he had to get rid of the rival. He probably chose this prison so that no one could see prisoner's face, no one could tell that the prince was alive. Oh, yes, that's what he himself would do- he would say that his rival was dead, so that no one would even bother with looking for him and no one would question his own right to rule.

For long hours, he busied himself with coming up with many different versions of his death, trying to chose which version his uncle had chosen to give to the public.

Really, Aknadin should've killed him for good.

Or maybe, his uncle truly hated him and decided that him dying inside this torture prison was much more fitting. Maybe.

He had no idea how long he was here.

But at some point, it became colder than before. While earlier he could somehow suffer through, now the chills were running up and down his body. He assumed it must've been winter. Of course, no one gave him any additional blanket or at least hot water.

No.

He was not a prisoner.

He was a convict. His cell was not a jail. It was execution.

He was meant to die here, far away from anyone remotely friendly.

He was sixteen when he was put there.

He wanted see his friends, he wanted to rule. He wanted... He wanted to live.

Soon, he started to cough.

He had no idea how much time passed, but after some time, coughs only got worse.

At one point, he heard two guards talking while they were bringing him water and bread.

"I think he went mad. Sure, no one liked Gersheh, but to wipe out the whole family?"

"Maybe he did something and we just don't know?" The other suggested.

At first, he didn't understand their words, he was too busy reveling in the fact that he _heard_ them.

"Oh, yes, he asked why prince's friends look for him still, if he has supposedly committed suicide." With that, they were gone, not paying attention to the prisoner they were leaving, unaware that the very same prince was slowly dying behind their backs.

Aknadin was still afraid of him. And was abusing his own people.

Good. Maybe they will rebel.

Soon after hearing this conversation, he started to cough up blood. He'd heard about such symptoms before. He was dying. He was slowly, painfully dying.

His life had been meaningless and now he was going to die meaningless death.

The Nameless prince, forgotten by the history and his own people.

That seemed fitting.

 _Being a king means more than just wearing crown. It might seem that everyone listens to you and they are less than you. But it is the exact opposite. As the king, you have no right to put your matters, your happiness and your life before theirs. They are your people. You are a son of god, a god incarnated. Who are you without your people? Where is your power?_

He remembered his father saying that to him. But surely, his father never thought that his only son would never get to rule. The god incarnated was dying. The country had a new god. Malicious and cowardly, but god.

And he himself was dying.

 _Dying._

Fighting with Aknadin would end up with him dead if he ever got to do it.

He was dead either way.

 _Wait._

 _He was dead either way._

He had nothing to lose.

 _Your people deserve a ruler who cares for them. They deserve someone to guide them, someone to protect them. Be that person, my son. You were born to be that person. Murder, kill and steal, as long as your people are safe and sound._

Soon after hearing the two guards, he had escaped and burned his jail to the ground. With everyone still in it. It felt good.

It felt just.

And now, he was in another kind of prison.

He was a captive.

"I'd never think you would be so easy to catch, Your Highness." The duke taunted as his men brought their prisoner to his knees, his hands tied behind his back.

"I had to help you catch me, I think you know that." He answered, his tone light. He had nothing to lose.

True, he wanted to overthrow Aknadin and give his country a new, better ruler. But he had his people now, and Mahad knew that their prince could drop dead any second. They were prepared. He could die today, tomorrow, or in two years, it didn't make any difference to him now. It didn't make any difference to his plans. Aknadin was going down.

His prison taught him not to fear darkness, so he didn't. It also told him not to fear death, because death was a part of him already.

"Bullshit. Who was that person that ran away? Your cowardly friend leaving you? Or a messenger?" The duke growled.

People were easy. They could be trusted only when they had something they cared about.

If you had what they cared about, they might become dangerous, because they would do anything to get it back.

But when you were what they cared about- they were easy to figure out. Mana and Mahad cared for each other and for him. They would not leave him, they proved that many times.

All of his new knights cared for him on some level, feeling gratitude and admiration, but they cared for each other more. And by splitting them up, he earned himself new hostages.

True, they were his people and he would protect them if the need arose, but he had to check their loyalty sometimes.

With each one of them in different part of the country, it would be hard to buy one of them, for they would fear for others, they would fear that they would wound up on other sides. They would not betray him, terrified that he might take it out on their family and friends.

People were easy.

And duke was also easy, because he cared for Crawford.

Emotions that betrayed the prince before, now became his greatest weapons.

"You'd love to find out, I am sure." He answered and smirked. He could practically see duke's thoughts.

"You are a decoy!" The man shouted accusingly." Your men escaped already and you stayed behind to buy them time." He snarled, hitting him in the face. It hardly hurt.

"You just figured it out?" He jeered in reply, hoping to provoke the duke even more. It worked, for he was dealt another blow. He would make him pay. But later.

"I could just kill you here, but it would not be enough." The duke hissed, pacing in front of him, scaring his own men.

"Yes, you want to see me humiliated in front of my people, I am aware. You are not exactly bright or original. Unfortunately, my people aren't here." _Come on, be angry._

Something flashed in duke's eyes.

"Really? Then I suppose you know that my men saw your precious girl warrior heading to the Maze city?" The duke asked triumphantly.

He forced himself to appear shocked.

"Ha! Good. Your face betrayed you. Then I think we shall ride to the Maze City, to look for your precious friends. Then we can see, how far your 'strategic mind' can take you." The duke gestured for his man to throw their prisoner on one of their carts, with two guards to keep him company.

He had no intention of running, to be honest.

He was precisely where he wanted to be.


	13. Chapter 13

Hi there, I am sorry for taking so long with the update, but well, uni life and all.

Thank you for your comments, really I am very greatful.

This time we have plot without porn, next chapter it is plot with feelings, so we are getting somewhere! I think the rest of what I want to write will take roughly 7 chapters, maybe few more, so the end is near.

Let me know, what you think!

* * *

Darkness engulfed both Yugi and Osiris almost completely.

At first, Yugi counted on the starlight to guide them, but soon he lost hope.

The moon was nowhere to be seen, hidden behind dark, heavy clouds. But he pressed on.

There was no emotional struggle anymore, just this urging feeling of purpose.

Yugi wouldn't say that his mind was blank, rather that it was strangely focused.

He had a clear goal before him and all he could do was to press on. With time his eyes got accustomed to the darkness and although he still couldn't actually see anything, the shapes surrounding him stopped being a black mass. He could distinguish where the walls ended and where the sky began.

The road Osiris was walking on was as dark as the sky, but the horse didn't seem to mind nor despair, so Yugi wasn't going to. True, the complete silence disturbed only by the horse's steps was slightly unnerving, but it was preferable to actually _hearing something move_.

Not seeing a thing was strange.

But it helped seeing what mattered.

Yugi's mind, running wild with worry and options before, was now almost calm, narrowing on getting out of the maze.

He didn't know how long he had been going through turns and fake alleys of the maze, because the time stopped mattering. He yet had to feel desperate, though. The dawn would be coming sooner or later, and by then, it would get better.

Another turn, another path.

And suddenly, Yugi saw a light.

There was something burning in front of him, he could see the glow raising above the walls.

His heart beating faster, Yugi sped up, to Osiris' indigence.

One more turn, just another one and...

And Yugi stopped in the middle of some kind of a court. It looked like a city market, as if the maze was no more. The houses melted into the walls, creating an illusion of an ordinary city. There was a great fire in the middle with few people gathered around it. Now when out of the maze's walls, Yugi could hear their quiet talks and laughs. Behind the fire he could see a tall, massive building that looked like a palace.

Not seeing any immediate danger, Yugi directed Osiris to approach the fire. However, before he could reach it, he was stopped by a blur on his left, running up to him with a shout "You're back!"

When he focused his eyes on the person that stopped Osiris, he recognized Mana.

"I knew you were on your way, you always are, and..." Here, she fell silent. "Yugi..." She said, as he jumped off Osiris' back.

"You thought I was the prince, right?" He asked her simply, not quite comprehending that he had managed through. True, he saw Mana and was quite sure that she was no hallucination, but even though his mind saw her, he could not muster a feeling of relief. Maybe he was too tired.

"I... I saw the light refelcting on the pyramid, and I thought... But I am happy to see you, I was worried about you too!" She added quickly. But she could not hide a note of disappointment from her voice. And Yugi couldn't blame her. He didn't doubt her honesty and he knew that she was concerned for him, but he understood why she would worry for the prince more.

"You must be exhausted!" She continued, taking Osiris' reigns from him in one hand and Yugi's own hand in her other. "We are staying in the inn for now, we will get you something to eat." Yugi simply nodded, tiredness wiping out any other sensations.

Mana led him to the building he had first assumed to be a palace. When he got nearer he noticed that it was a slight exaggeration. True, the inn was big, but not that huge. And it certainly wasn't representative enough to be considered a palace.

"Go right inside, Joey is at the table, I will take Osiris to the stable, he deserves it." Mana rambled on, failing to hide anxiety from her voice.

Yugi simply nodded and went to inn's door. When he opened them, he was welcomed with laugher and songs, his entry completely unnoticed. The inn was like any inn he had ever read about. People were sitting at their tables, eating, talking, shouting and fighting, caught up in their own lives and quarrels. One day before, Yugi would've found it fascinating and exciting. Now he was tired, wary and somehow older.

Maybe it was the tiredness. Maybe it was stress. Or maybe the darkness and loneliness changed him, but when he finally spotted Joey and Timaeus, he could not bring himself to shout and wave, as Joey did, but simply approached them and sat down, only now realizing how sore he was from all of these hours on a horseback.

"Man, you have no idea how happy I am to see you!" Joey shouted, pulling Yugi in a hug. Yugi returned the embrace immediately.

"Not as much as I am to see you." He replied, feeling the numbness from before finally fading. The sensations hit him almost at the same time.

He was hungry. Scared. Worried. Determined. Happy. Afraid. Proud of himself. Lonely. Lost. Found. Exhausted. Cold. All at the same time.

Soon, he felt tears pooling at his eyes, and he heard that Joey and Timaeus were saying something, but he did not register the words, sobbing quietly in Joey's arms.

"I take it the prince is not with you..." That, Yugi heard. He quickly wiped his tears and looked up. He tried to calm down his beating heart, his erratic breathing. He could do this. He bested the maze. He travelled in darkness. He had found his friends. He was strong.

He wanted to prove it, and prove it he did.

The prince asked him to protect the pyramid.

He had not failed.

The prince won't either.

"I will tell you everything when Mana gets back." He managed, stealing a glance at Timaeus who was sitting on the bench facing Yugi.

Yugi might be emotional at the moment, but he wasn't stupid. He wasn't going to tell Timaeus anything until Mana gets there. She would stop him if needed. She was the one who knew the other prince the best, so there was a possibility that she was also keeping a discreet eye on their unexpected ally.

"Are you all right?" Timaeus asked, and his voice sounded genuinely concerned.

"I will be in a moment." He answered. Joey quickly stood up to catch a barkeeper, presumably to order something to eat and to drink for Yugi. Gratitude washed over grief and fear.

Joey returned alongside Mana and they both sat down quickly, stealing worried glances at Yugi. They were not exactly subtle.

Yugi opened his mouth to tell them everything, but was interrupted by a woman bringing him hot mead and something that judging from the smell was lamb. He thanked her and took a sip of mead. It was hot, which really shouldn't surprise him. But it was what he needed.

"The prince was taken by duke's men." He finally said. By admitting it out loud he'd made it real. The prince was gone. He ignored Mana and Joey's gasps and continued. "He planned to be taken from the very beginning. He'd sent me with the pyramid and his horse here, to tell you that he should be at the Paradox Fields tomorrow. He said that he will steer duke there."

When he finished, there was silence.

Timaeus' expression betrayed nothing. Mana was deep in her thoughts and Joey was simply looking at Yugi.

"Did he tell you how to get to the Maze?" He asked finally, and Yugi was taken aback.

"No? Did he tell you?" He countered, not sure where this was all going.

"He did." Mana answered, seemingly having made her mind up. "You see, there is a set of rules about entering and leaving Maze City. It is a strange, ancient place, where the beliefs of old times are cultivated. The people of Maze city take their ancestors very seriously. One can only enter Maze City once by the same entrance, that's the rule." She explained, and in that moment she reminded Yugi of Mahad, the wisdom of his words coming from his apprentice. He started to eat, thanking every deity for the food. He definitely needed it. He hoped that Osiris was getting his fair share of substance as well.

"The prince had entered through the city gate once, and told me to wait for the rest at the gates to let them pass. He told me, which gate was the proper one. I thought he had told you as well..." She seemed concerned. But Yugi wasn't. The prince told him that he believed in him. That Yugi was stronger and smarter than he believed. And he had proved it, letting Yugi put himself to the test. And Yugi had passed. The pride he felt, previously squashed by everything else, now shined brightly in his heart.

"He did not. I figured it out myself." He replied, letting his pride speak for him.

"That's... impressive..."Mana started, but Timaeus interrupted her.

"It is very impressive. Especially in the dark, to find your way here..." Yugi thanked him for the compliment with a nod of his head. The man's voice was very similar to that of the prince, it's a wonder he had not noticed before... Haga said something about Yugi being the prince's double, but Timaeus would do a better job. He was of right height, he spoke in a similar manner. His face resembled that of a prince, and yet Yugi was sure he would never for a moment believe Timaeus to be the prince and vice versa. They held themselves differently. They acted and spoke differently. Timaeus did not have that fearsome, murderous aura around himself, and Yugi was surprised to see that he had considered this to be a fault. Maybe that's why didn't trust Timaeus? Because to him he was a disrupted version of the Mad Prince?

"What do you mean, 'same entrance', if only one of the three is correct? You can enter only once, later you must take the wrong path? Or you cannot enter? Must be stupid to live here." The moment Joey finished, he was silenced by Mana and Timaeus' wild gestures.

"Don't say anything like that out loud! We cannot come here and insult people's customs and beliefs!" Mana hissed, and Yugi had to agree with her.

"Besides, There are many more entrances. But those are much more difficult to find. Most of the people of Maze City simply don't leave it, for the fear of not getting back. And that was the point of building the Maze in the first place. The Paradox brothers, the creators of this City believed that the true city is the one that is concerned with itself, not with the outside world." Timaeus explained.

'The world may change and one can never be sure of what's going to happen next. But within the Maze, they were safe. Only the most clever and daring could enter. I don't quite remember why and when that happened, but the result is this Maze. The buildings outside the Maze that we've passed are the houses of guardians. They are controlling whether you have not passed this particular entrance before. And trust me, there is no way to fool them." Yugi wanted to ask whether somebody had tried before, and out of the corner of his eye he could see that Joey was thinking the same thing, but they were both silenced by Timaeus' expression.

"The same guardians will kill anyone who dares to turn back and attempt to get back where they started."

"Wait a second, how is a normal person meant to know such thing?" Joey hissed in outrage, looking around to see if somebody paid them any attention. Nobody did.

Well, it made sense, now when Yugi thought about it.

"The normal person isn't meant to know it at all. The whole Maze is a test not only of cunning, but also of courage. You are put in front of a Maze. If you are wise and brave enough to wager your life on your guess, you are worthy of entering the city. " He explained. The feeling of pride returned. He was worthy. If asked directly, he would never say that about himself before, and yet, here he was, Yugi Mutou, the boy who bested the Maze.

 _You are far stronger than you give yourself credit for. I chose you, because I trust you to do what is right._

Yugi smiled to his thoughts.

"And where are Paradox Fields?" Joey pressed, and this time no one had an answer for him.

"Well, here's the problem. We are here for the first time and I assumed... I assumed that the prince will be with us already." Mana finally admitted.

"We can always ask somebody here?" Joey suggested, but Yugi was pretty sure that considering the rules of the city, it won't work. They had to figure it out themselves.

"I don't think so." Replied Timaeus." I think it is something more complicated. My cousin puts a lot of faith in us if he truly expects us to welcome him at the Paradox Fields. In fact, he puts a lot of faith in us, demanding even more faith in him. I have no idea what he is planning at the moment." For the first time today, Yugi heard anger enter the man's voice. " He told me his plan and yet now I found out it was just a decoy. I assume you are in the same situation. " He looked around, searching for confirmation. " I don't know what awaits us tomorrow. I don't know whether we will even see him tomorrow. Maybe he truly had lost his mind..."

"Don't you dare!" Somebody shouted, and Yugi took his time noticing that it was him. Everyone else seemed as surprised as him. His first thought was to apologize, the man was a prince, or a king, if Yugi remembered correctly, so he had no right to shout but... But his new found confidence in himself stopped him.

"I don't know what the prince is planning either. But he is playing a dangerous game and he takes a great risk upon himself. It is disrespectful to say that! To lack faith in him, to kill his companions' morale. Or maybe that is what you aim for?" He was not prepared to face the fury of prince's look alike.

Where prince's anger was cold, menacing and calculating, Timaeus was unabashed.

"You are taking it too far!" He hissed." Just because my cousin gave you the necklace, it doesn't make you his queen. You are just a peasant boy who forgot his place, a stray adopted on the way."

Yugi sat, frozen in his seat.

"Who gave my cousin place to stay and nursed him back to health, who helped him in need? Who brought him here, to help him regain the throne?" With each sentence, the voice of the enraged prince grew louder and louder. "You, of all people, have no right to accuse me of treason! A boy who is responsible for Mahad being wounded, and taking his place? Who's the traitor here?"

Mana started to shout something, she snatched Timaeus' hand and started to placate him, while Joey started to shout in Yugi's defense.

But Yugi wasn't listening.

True, from Timaeus' perspective, Yugi was the only weak link. No wonder he seemed to dislike Yugi . No wonder Yugi answered him with the same. And true, he was the one responsible for Mahad not being with them, and he was the one who usurped his position. But he was here to make amends, to help instead of destroy, and he will not back down now, just because one man refused to acknowledge Yugi.

And it might be true that he had no claim on the prince, since he usually went against the man's actions, but he believed in him. And the prince returned that faith.

" I might be unworthy for you, but at least I passed the Maze test." he said simply.

He went too saw it the moment he stopped talking. The silence once again fell on their table. If eyes could kill, Yugi would be dead by now.

"I think that's quite enough. " For a moment, Yugi thought it was Mahad. But the one speaking with authority was Mana, adapting her teacher's strong, calm demeanor. " We have rooms upstairs. We will wake up at dawn and start searching for the Paradox fields. We have more or less three hours. Do what you want with your time, but cool your heads. We cannot afford fighting with each other if we need to face duke's men."

Joey opened his mouth to argue, but was silenced by Mana's gesture. " Second floor, rooms 11,12,13,14. 15 will be left empty, because the prince is not here with us. I will settle the bill. You go."

Yugi and Timaeus exchanged hard gazes for the last time and left the table. Yugi immediately went towards the stairs and was relieved to see Joey following him. Timaeus disappeared behind the front door, going outside.

"That was stressful." Joey started as they made their way upstairs. "I mean, we have arrived few hours before you and all of this time this guy seemed to be all right. I never noticed him having anything against you."

"Maybe he doesn't." Yugi replied. " Thank you for protecting me." He added and earned himself a smile.

"Well, he was insulting my best friend." Yugi's smile that appeared at this confession was so wide it started to hurt his face. He always knew that Joey cared for him, but to hear it was something else. In his small world he shared only with Anzu, more people appeared.

"I hope he will get over it, eventually. I mean, he is strong, and the closest thing we have to the prince at the moment. Even if he truly is somehow suspicious."

"Well, from his point of view, we are suspicious. We joined in and started off by messing up. No wonder he is not exactly keen on welcoming us to the team." He defended, and he meant it. Here, out of the heat of the moment, he was well aware that he had overreacted.

"Well, the least you deserve is to sleep. I truly cannot imagine how you managed to survive the way and pick the right gate. But I will pester you about it later. For now, you must rest. You look like you could faint any moment."At that, Joey hugged him. "Go to sleep."

And Yugi could only nod.

He entered room 13, the one in the middle, hoping that his neighbors were Mana and Joey. He was not exactly looking forward to sleep next to Timaeus right now.

He barely took off his clothes and fell on the bed when fatigue got to him and he fell asleep.

/

He was warm.

He tried opening his eyes, but it was no use. He could not see a thing. But he could feel.

He was in somebody's arms. He could feel them on his back, caressing his skin. He hadn't noticed before, but his clothing seemed to be missing. Before he could panic, the arms lessened the force of embrace, as if assuring him that he could go if he wanted.

When he concentrated, he could feel the slow beating of other's heart.

He moved his hands to at least outline the shape of the person holding him, since he couldn't see them. But there was nothing. True, he felt the touch on his skin, but he could not find a body in front of him.

Only the steady beating of the other's heart and their hands on his back.

He wanted to ask, but before he managed to find his voice, he felt chin resting on his shoulder.

The hold of the arms tightened slightly, as if the person holding him tried to make sure that he indeed was there. Like he was missed. The warmness he felt, returned.

Even without his eyes, he felt safe. He felt needed.

"I cannot see you." He whispered as other's cheek brushed his neck.

 _You see me._

He had not exactly heard the answer. He rather felt it. A ghost of breath danced on his shoulder.

"I do not. Everything is dark." He tried, moving his hands to touch the head resting on his shoulder. But his hands found only emptiness.

 _Everything is me, then._ The voice offered, as if astonished and amused with this turn of events.

"I cannot touch you." He complained, his hands still encountering his skin instead of the other's.

But he felt the beating of the heart in front of him.

 _Maybe you are not trying hard enough._ The voice was definitely amused. _I can touch you._ As if to prove their words, Yugi felt a hand on his back move upwards, to rest on his nape.

 _See? Not that difficult._

It was a strange conversation. But he didn't want it to end.

Without his senses, he could only feel, and it somehow made everything easier.

"Are you the darkness?" He asked softly. For a moment, he was afraid that he had scared the other away. But the arms around haven't disappeared and he could still feel the pressure of the head resting on his shoulder.

 _I think that depends on you. I think I am many things. But if you prefer me as darkness, I might be it._ The voice finally responded, and the arms and the head suddenly disappeared.

The warmness was gone.

"Don't go" he begged, trying to catch the other, in vain.

 _I think I have to. We're getting near._

The heartbeat withdrew.

"I miss you." He confessed, not understanding his own words. " I want you back."

 _You are doing fine without me._ Before he could respond, he felt lips cover his own for a short moment, and then they withdrew, taking the warmness, the safety with them, leaving only longing.

The he heard a knock.

/

Yugi woke up with a start. He looked around, surprised that he could see. Finally, he noticed a figure at the door.

"I didn't want to wake you." Said Timaeus, entering." We are supposed to get moving soon, so I assumed you will no longer be asleep." He added in explanation, closing the door behind him and turning the light on.

" Well, I had a rough night..." Yugi started, but Timaeus stopped him.

"Doesn't matter. I came to apologize." That was... Unexpected. " I had no right to accuse you of anything and I have said some words that should have never been said." At that, Yugi stood up from his bed.

"I need to apologize to you as well. I think all of us were tired, nervous, and worried. We weren't thinking clearly." Timaeus nodded at that, but he sat down on Yugi's bed, gesturing him to do the same. The talk was far from done. Yugi sat back down.

" The thing is, I don't understand my cousin anymore. I usually did. When we were kids, I understood him better than Mana and Mahad, because we were so similar. We looked the same and we thought the same. Then, he disappeared. And I couldn't believe that he would kill himself, just like that. I searched for him with my father's troops, but there was no trace of him. Then, my father died and I became the king. I had to stop searching. " So he was the king. Insulting him was even more dangerous than Yugi previously thought.

"And then, year ago, he came to me with Mana, Mahad and some people, and I could hardly recognize him. He looked like a ghost of himself and he talked like that, too. His core has not changed, or else we wouldn't be here, but his methods and his... choice of companions, did. "

Yugi tried not to take offense at the significant change in Timaeus' tone.

"You see, before, he adored his family the most. We all did. Our family was always close, we always believed that the family was the greatest gift our gods could give us. We were strong together and we trusted each other. When Aknadin did what he did... He destroyed us all. We were no longer together. We were parted, fighting and distrusting each other. And your prince was the one most damaged by this. He doesn't trust his family anymore."

That took Yugi back to his talk with the prince, back in the forest. "He doesn't doubt your loyalty." He assured Timaeus. At that, the king shook his head.

"I'm not worried for me. I gave up the crown and gave it to my mother, she's the Queen Regent now. I decided to help him myself, because I want my family back. I want our line to rule once again, strong in blood. But he is no longer of the same belief as I am."

A shiver of dread ran up Yugi's spine.

"What do you mean by that? He trusts you, he..."

"There's another one."

Now, Yugi was confused.

"Aknadin has a son. He overthrew his own brother and his son, to guarantee his own bastard son the recognition the boy, in his mind, deserved. I'd met that son. And I hate to tell you, but for reasons I cannot disclose to you, I am lead to believe that this boy is the answer I was looking for. Aknadin must go, but... So must your prince."

"How can you say that?" Yugi whispered in horror.

"Oh, I don't mean him any harm. He's right, Aknadin doesn't deserve the throne, he sullied it with what he did. But with Mad Prince's lack of belief in his family, I fear that by overthrowing Aknadin, he will be sure to kill his son as well. A... my cousin, prefers company of strangers, of people who are devoted to him not because of blood, but because of the bond he shares with them and I cannot fault him for that. "

That made sense. Of course, since Mahad and Mana were the only ones the prince could count on, and they were not related, the prince would assume that bond created by what they went through would be stronger than that of mere blood. It would explain why he trusted Joey and Yugi well enough to allow them to go with him. _Because they've passed his judgment_.

"But I cannot let him run what's left of our bloodline to the ground because he is afraid of his own family. He will leave no heir. Of that I am sure. And by killing off Aknadin's son, the line will end. I cannot let him do that. And I ask you to help me convince him."

"What can I do? As you said, I am nobody, I have no power over him, maybe Mahad..."

"Mahad is too protective of his prince. He will follow him in destroying every threat that the prince could encounter. Mahad is incredibly wise, but he was with my cousin too long. He too is perceiving people's life as a token in a game. What you did with Haga was stupid. But it proved that you are not willing to see people die for vain."

"What I did with Haga almost resulted in Mahad being dead. It should teach me that what the prince says is true." Yugi argued. True, what Timaeus said made sense, it made perfect sense, but there was something Timaeus was not telling him, something Yugi was missing. Why would the prince not leave any heir? And all of the Timaeus asked of him... It sounded strangely like conspiring. And Yugi didn't want to conspire against the prince, didn't want to make the man lose the faith in people, in his friends... His faith in Yugi.

"True. But Haga already expressed his intent. Seto, Aknadin's son, didn't. I don't think he is even aware what his father had done. And he will be murdered by default. You know that I am right. " And unfortunately, Yugi did. Knowing the prince and his sense of goal, he would not ask any questions. And even if he did, if that Seto was at least a little like his cousin, he would refuse to ask for forgiveness, out of spite.

"I have no influence over the prince..." Yugi tried.

At that, Timaeus looked at him, sadly.

"I think both of you would be happier if that was the truth. He gave you the Millennium Puzzle. And from what I've heard, you've went against him a few times and survived. He is not well acquainted with his feelings at the moment, so he probably haven't noticed yet. But he has a certain weak spot for you. It could prove lethal for him in the future. But, if you help me, it could save him."

Yugi was shaken. He had no idea, what to do, whom to trust. For all he knew, Timaeus could be lying right now, convincing him to do something else entirely. But...

"Help me, Yugi. Help me save Seto. And the prince's name." The prince's name... The name he would get back when he regains his honor. The name without which his soul would be forever loitering here, not allowed to enter the Afterlife. The name the prince probably remembered, but felt too unworthy to use. Killing his own kin, his own blood would strip him off the honor forever...

"What can I do?"


	14. Chapter 14

Please let me know if you find any mistakes, I was kinda in hurry because Saturday is the only day when I can write, and I have plenty more things to do, so please forgice me.

Thank you for your comments, you guys are awesome and I'm so happy that you like the story so far! I hope I will not disappoint you in this one :-D

* * *

He woke up, not sure what he was dreaming about. He was fairly sure, however, that it was a good dream. A strange one, but good as well.

The sun was rising.

Not that he minded. True, it would be hard to look at it and his eyes would need plenty of time to adjust, but considering his future plans, it was but a small drawback.

If he was quite honest with himself, he wasn't sure how all of this will end. He trusted in many things to just go his way - for the duke to let himself be manipulated, which he had, but to what degree? For Mana and the rest to get safely to the middle of the Maze. For Yugi to figure the Maze out.

Yugi.

That was something unexpected. The young man had a very sharp mind, if properly challenged, probably sharper than his own. But ever from that first night when he had punished Arkana, from the first night when Yugi and Anzu had defied him and fought for their lives, he had not considered them a threat. If they were friendly, if they were 'ready to help him' from the beginning, he would have them killed. Defiance and hate are honest. Fighting for their life was honest, as was their distrust of him and his companions.

And he decided to trust them. The only ones who were truly concerned for him were Mana and Mahad, and he saw that after escaping from the prison. But the rest... Aknadin was always nice, always supporting and ready to help and listen. All of this had been a lie. Or worse, it hadn't been a lie at all, Aknadin simply weighed his nephew's life and his own ambition and found the life of his kin worth less.

Kindness was dishonest. It was weak. Compassion was weak.

He firmly believed in that and that belief had never led him astray. He had gathered new companions, bound to him with gratitude, with need of protection or simply, with earning for some purpose in life. They were loyal and nice, but what held the group together was not kindness or compassion, it was purpose. And that, he could understand.

And then Yugi and Anzu appeared, and everything stopped being so clear. The fear and hatred they felt for him were easy to understand and he trusted in their feelings. But then, they started to change, they started to adapt. So he moved on, binding them to his cause by helping them, protecting them, talking to them. Anzu was the first one to change her alliance and she quickly became one of them.

And then, there was Yugi.

He was like light. He shone with kindness and at the beginning, he had tried to squash that light within the boy, to mold it and change it into the darkness of distrust and ruthlessness he himself had adopted. But Yugi refused. And the more he refused, the more he was drown to the boy.

Yes, he was aware, that Yugi's kindness was a serious fault, but it was at the same time the biggest strength of that shy, intelligent boy. Instead of hating that light, he started to yearn for it. He was aware that he had spend much time with Yugi, getting to know the boy when he knew he shouldn't. Even Mahad told him that. He should've left Yugi alone.

It would be better for the boy. But it would be such a shame to see him wilt away in his mansion, not understanding his own brilliance, not seeing how special, how strong he was.

Besides, even though he had not much time, he could still be selfish. He had always been selfish, after all, protecting what you care about is the greatest selfishness one could exhibit. It was his nature. And his nature simply couldn't leave Yugi alone.

He had never felt so dire need to be understood by someone, to show them how the world looked like through his eyes.

Mahad called it 'affection'. And he had partly agreed. Because he was never joking when he threatened Yugi. The moment the boy became a threat, he will kill him. He might be selfish and fascinated, but no matter what feelings he might have for Yugi, there were more important things. There was always one choice he could make.

"You seem unperturbed." He turned towards the voice. The first, weak rays of the sun were touching the duke's hair. He hadn't noticed when the man appeared next to the cart he was on.

"Why should I be?" He replied, trying to sound more smug than he felt. Now he felt mostly cold and tired, but that was something he could never show in front of his enemies.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because I am going to wipe that smirk off your face permanently the moment we reach your beloved companions?" The duke suggested sweetly. The guards that were put in charge of him laughed a short, not genuine laugh.

"You seem to be pretty confident about that. And yet here you are, talking with me. Scared?" He noted, trying to keep the duke away. The man had to be at the beginning of the column, leading his troops and entering the maze long before the cart.

"No. Just feeling the need to boast and gloat." The duke answered. " You seem confident that somehow your friends will rescue you. If they are as talented as that idiot Joey you've sent on my court, then I have nothing to fear." A surge of anger ran through him. Joey was another person that surprised him. True, it was Mai who argued and fought to keep them well and alive, but Joey seemed not only attached to her, he also strongly believed in the cause. He trusted them to change the state of the kingdom. He was exactly what they needed. Someone from the kingdom to tell them they wanted them.

Because he himself was sometimes unsure. He didn't want to become another one in the line of dictators who claimed power against the will of the people. He was doing it for the people mostly. His own reasons should be less important. But it was hard to distinguish whether it was true while he was not in his own country, while he had no contact with his subjects.

Only Joey, later seconded by Yugi and Anzu, gave him the final confidence. And hearing this second rate strategist calling Joey idiot was like a personal insult.

He managed to stay calm, however. Because Joey had done what Joey had to do, even if in a clumsy way. He got the duke's attention and because of that, even though they had less time than he planned they would have, they were leading the duke into a trap. But of course, he could not say that out loud. That, and he couldn't be sure that they would be waiting for him in Paradox Fields. He believed that Yugi and Timaeus were able to figure out the Maze, but he could not be sure.

"Well, your comrades do not seem to be intellectuals either, so I am not worried." That earned him an angry punch to the face from the guard sitting the closest to him. It had hurt. The duke started to shout something at his underlings, but he wasn't listening.

He could feel another coughing fit approaching. When was the last time he had drank the lotus potion? Before they had started on their journey, which would be... Too long. He went without it for too long. The constricting pain of lungs, dulled for a while, now returned with a full force.

They could not know. It was bad enough that Timaeus knew, considering his unknown motives.

"Did I hit a sore point?" He taunted, and another punch, this time in solar plexus, gave him the opportunity to cough up the blood.

The pain stayed, but the immediate threat of exposure was gone.

"I get it, insulting your precious friends is not a way to go." The duke said mockingly, still not bothering to catch up with the rest of his men.

The sun was now shining in full.

Everything hurt. And now, he couldn't even keep his eyes open.

"Oh, must be hard." That was the duke, the false sympathy evident in his voice. " Don't worry, I will shorten your suffering soon."

He forced his eyes open.

It was too late. They were already in the city.

"Sir, there seem to be some kind of a maze before us!" One of the soldiers shouted.

"Well, who would have thought. In the Maze City? A maze?" The duke hissed and went ahead to guide his people. Since he was not a complete idiot after all, figuring out the right entrance took him only an hour.

By that time, he was sore, hungry and definitely too weak to actually fight. All hope he had, was that the rest was already safe on Paradox Fields.

"Well, I think I will accompany you, since I seem to get on your nerves." He turned. The duke was back. Damn.

"I am deeply flattered." He answered, hating how weak his voice sounded. Of course, the duke noticed.

"Not so sure anymore, are we? You probably thought we will not get past the Maze." Here, the light tone of the duke disappeared." You are always underestimating me."

He wasn't.

He simply knew he was better.

He told the duke as much.

Before the man could respond, the soldiers that went before the cart had entered the Maze.

An arrow came down and landed on the cart floor in front of his feet.

At least that went according to plan.

"That's the end of my way, apparently." He said, his smirk effortlessly back in its place. " I think I cannot enter the Maze through this gate. Unless, you want me dead already, but I am aware it is not the case." He taunted, basking in the hatred visible on the duke's face.

"You... You knew!" He growled. " Get back, everybody, get back!" The moment the soldiers started to follow the order, a rain of arrows ran in their direction. The guardians of the Maze were on the walls, their figures obscured by their dark cloaks. The soldiers tried to fight back, but the guardians were too swift on their feet, being accustomed to moving on the walls instead of inside them.

The slaughter was short and efficient.

"The punishment for turning back is death." He told the duke, who was watching in horror as his men who turned back to obey him were falling to the ground, their blood splaying the path. The few that had not turned around were now watching in silence, waiting for a new command. Some of them were already gone, running for their lives inside the Maze.

The duke was silent.

The two guards in the cart with him were as well, staring speechless at their fallen comrades.

A good strategist should always know everything about his surroundings.

But he had no strength to boast. The first part of the plan worked. But there were still many things that could go wrong.

He wondered, what would Yugi say if he knew what happened to this men. He would probably feel sad? He would think of their families, of their future. He would blame him. He would once again look at him as a child looks at the monster.

Maybe he really was one.

"I want to kill you right now." The duke whispered, and before he could react, he felt a blade pressing on his throat.

"One your word, sir." The man panted, clearly wanting revenge for the ones killed in the Maze.

"No. Not now. I will drag you back to your people and I will slaughter them all so that you can see. Only then, I will free you from the pain and murder you in the most painful way I can think of."

"You assume that they will let you do that." It was hard, talking with a blade so close to his skin, but he had to keep talking. The angrier the man was, the less straight he could think.

At that, the duke laughed a dark, strangled laugh.

"You have no troops. That three people we saw were your only companions. I see it now." That got him by surprise. How did the duke know?

"You wouldn't do something as underhanded as that if you were sure that you had the advantage. But you knew you had none. You led us to this trap so that we will never notice that you have no support!" The duke was now shouting and his horse neighed in worry, feeling that something strange was going on with its master.

"All you have is that three people. And we have neither your hideout, nor them. Well played. But that's not the end!" The guards backed off, clearly taken aback by this outburst.

"I can see everything now, you will not fool me again! And trust me, you will regret spilling a drop of their blood!" Here, the duke turned to the men still standing in the Maze." Go ahead. If you find anyone from his group, catch them. Don't kill them, that would be too easy." The men shouted something in response and went ahead.

Maybe it was better that the duke stayed with him. He was too weak to fight off the guards as he previously planned, and without the duke with them as the leader, the soldiers had good chances of getting lost inside the Maze. They will probably never find the Centre, and even if they did, Yugi and the rest should already safe at Paradox Fields.

He hoped.

"There is another entrance. Isn't it?"

"There is." In fact, there were plenty of entrances, but only Paradox Fields would provide what he was lacking at the moment- a chance to win.

"Then lead the way. And trust me, now I will know if you are leading me astray or not."

And he really hadn't doubted it.

Still, he had no intention of leading them astray. He wanted to get on the Paradox Fields. And he needed duke there as well.

"Leave the City and turn left. We will enter it from North."

/

Getting to the Fields was the easy part, it turned out.

All they had to do was to find the 'map' of the Maze and understand the riddles that were written instead of the names of places.

"They must've really liked the riddles." Joey sighed as they were copying the most promising lines on the paper.

"If we knew what other places are here, we could eliminate some." Mana said, and Yugi silently agreed. He loved riddles, but here, there was too many things he didn't know. If he knew the proper names of the places, it would help -he could put a name to a riddle and find the Paradox Fields. But only because a riddle was speaking of paradoxes, it was no guarantee that it was the correct one. What if there were' Paradox Towers' or something else?

Too many options, it turned out, because almost every riddle's answer seemed to be 'paradox' or 'impossible', if one wanted to quote Joey.

But soon, thanks to Timaeus, they have found what they were looking for.

"I have one that simply doesn't make any sense." He said at some point, and showed them a very strange thing indeed.

 _survived death that life extinguished with inevitable Fate._

"Sounds like enough paradox to me. It died, but survived." Joey said. " But it doesn't seem to be any different than the ones we had looked into before."

"True. But it is the only one with a capital letter at the end." Yugi answered after a while. Some riddles had not capital letters, some had only capital letters. Some had capital letters inside, some simply at the beginning. And all were about some kind of a paradox.

Maybe it was just like with the gate? There was only one correct answer, the rest was simply a decoy leading gods know where?

That would explain why everything seemed to be about paradox. No wonder people didn't want to leave the city. The map, as they had learned, was changed every day and remembering which exit was a correct one might be hard, because everything looked the same. Adding changing riddles to that, Yugi was sure he would be traumatized if he stayed here.

He looked at the sentence once again.

It had capital letter at the end. Considering the normal ordination of a sentence, it was its mirror reflection. Yugi thought of the trial at the gates.

He read it from the end to the beginning.

 _Fate inevitable with extinguished life that death survived._

It still didn't make any sense.

"I tried translating it into the language of the capital, just in case, but it still means nothing." Mana said, defeat entering her voice." Had Mahad been here, he would know."

Was it another dead end?

"The only thing that is interesting here is that the Maze people would write 'death' with a capital 'D', since it is one of their gods." Timaeus also seemed to lose faith. " My cousin had been wrong."

That one sentence motivated Yugi even more. The prince could not be wrong. He was the prince.

 _Fate inevitable with extinguished life that Death survived._ He wrote on a piece of paper.

It still was nothing much. But it was the only one with a capital letter at the end, so it had to be special, right?

"Let us have 5 minutes to think about something else. We are too fixated on that, we are not looking with a fresh eye." Mana suggested, and reluctantly, they followed her advice. Joey and Timaeus went to get something for eat, while Mana attended to the horses, speaking softly to them in that capital language. Yugi was determined to learn it someday. It sounded nice and finally, he would not feel left out whenever others were speaking it. He wanted to learn everything there was about the capital, if he was to be honest.

Their culture was different than that Yugi knew from the North. Even the cards were designed differently.

He got up and took out his Falcon deck from his bag. The figures of half-men, half-animals were eerie at the first glance, but now they were simply beautiful for him . The woman with wings reminded Yugi of Mai. She had black hair instead of blonde, but her expression was the same- dangerous and powerful, and yet kind. That, and Mai seemed to like the harpy card from his Monster deck very much, so it fit. Anzu was like the hippo lady. Not because she was fat, because she wasn't. But the hippo lady cradled a child against her breasts, yet instead of looking at it, she was looking at the one holding the card, as if saying 'I will protect it from you.". And that was very much like Anzu.

He himself had always felt that the card with a man with the head of some unknown bird, holding a board was the closest to him. Mostly because the man was surrounded with games and seemed too caught up with them to even spare a time to look at the card-holder. He probably knew many things, but was somehow isolated from the world, and Yugi could relate to that.

Joey was like the man with the crocodile head, because he seemed to be the most eager one, a sword in his hand and all...

The prince was the one with the head of the Falcon, maybe because it was the first card the prince saw when Yugi showed him that, or maybe because the Falcon seemed to have the same regal bearing as the prince did.

Yugi shuffled through cards, enjoying his favourite pictures. There were quite few of them, since the highest cards, from jack to ace had the pictures of gods, while the lower had whole scenes.

Yugi's hand stopped at the card with the Falcon and the man with a head of a black dog standing in some kind of chamber. For some reason, the half-dog reminded him of Timaeus. Behind the Dog stood someone covered by bandages and Yugi was fairly sure that that person was dead. The Falcon and the Dog seemed to be talking, their hands outstretched towards each other. Maybe they were arguing?

He looked at the bottom of the card. While the gods were not named, the scenes usually had some kind of explanation on them. This one wasn't telling Yugi much. 'Inevitable Fate.'. That could literally everything, he should have asked the prince, it was probably a well-known scene from mythology. Or, maybe he should ask Mana, what that 'Inevitable Fate' of the Falcon man was.

It could be death. Or, 'Death', if one went by the standards of Maze-people... Wait.

 _Fate Inevitable with extinguished life that Death survived._

F, I, D. What if Maze people didn't only capitalize 'death'? What if they capitalized every noun?

 _Fate Inevitable with extinguished Life that Death survived._

F,I,L,D. Add to that verbs...

 _Fate Inevitable with Extinguished Life that Death Survived._

F,I,E,L,D,S.

It was that easy.

"I got it!" He shouted and ran to his companions.

The gods were with them. Or maybe it was the prince.

This time, conquering the Maze was much faster, because the road was fairly simple. There were no dead-ends, anything, only path that led towards. Sure, it twisted and turned, but that was it. And in the daylight, it didn't seem as terrifying.

They've reached the Paradox Fields after two hours.

The Fields were exactly that. Inside the walls there was a great, green field. At the centre of it there stood a sculpture of two men standing back to back. When they have approached the sculpture, Yugi noticed that they were almost identical. So probably those were the Paradox brothers.

"And what now?" Joey asked, and Yugi followed the sentiment. The fields seemed to be empty. There was no one else in sight. Neither newcomers, nor the locals.

The only people here was them.

The prince was not here.

The prince was not coming...

He was probably...

"Hey, stop that!" Mana shouted at him, jumping from her horse and poking her fingers into his ribs. "We are pretty early, if he is travelling with a company as you've said, it would take them more time to get here, right?"

"Yes, but, he said 'morning' and..."

"And the morning is still far from done." Timaeus interjected. Yugi was still unsure of what to think of Timaeus' words from their morning talk. He understood the former king's point of view, but... But doing anything more against the prince was the last thing Yugi wanted. He would have to talk to the prince, provided that the prince was all right and...

He had to stop worrying.

"We should play something, while we wait." He suggested, and the rest of the group agreed. They tied the horses to the fence in front of the sculpture and sat down on the grass.

"I think it is the best thing we can do." Timaeus said as Yugi was dealing cards." I am not sure what the rules concerning the Paradox Fields are, but from what I remember, it should be a place of intellectual fight, not of brutal combat. So if the guardians are watching us from somewhere, then it is best we appear to do just that."

"Sure. And it will keep us from being bored to death." Only after this comment from Joey, Yugi noticed how stressed his friend actually was. Joey, even though impulsive and loud, was not blind to the atmosphere and could tell, when somebody was worried. But when he was, he tried to cover it up with self-confidence and aloof attitude, not letting the stress taking over him. He must be as worried and unsure of what was going to happen as Yugi was.

Yugi smiled at him, hoping to convey some kind of support.

All they could do, was wait.

/

They spent few hours, playing different card games until Mana got bored with it.

"Yugi, playing with you is like playing with our prince! It is no fun if you simply cannot win!" She whined, and fell back on the grass, stretching.

"Seconded." Timaeus added, folding his cards. If Yugi didn't know better, he would say that Timaeus was sulking.

"Let me guess, you are used to winning and your ego just took the blow?" Joey teased, and Timaeus just snorted.

"I confirm nothing."

Their only warning was the sound of wheels hitting loose stones on their path. Something was arriving from the North entrance, the sound of hooves echoing through the walls.

The whole four of them got up to their feet. Mana was running to her horse to take the sword, but Timaeus stopped her, gesturing to the wall on the left.

Yugi turned with Mana, but could see nothing. Only when something moved on the wall, Yugi understood that they were being observed. The guardians, clad in blue cloaks were almost invisible, blending with the sky.

Apparently, Timaeus was right and fighting in the Fields was strictly forbidden.

Finally, the new arrivals left the shadow of the walls.

A black haired man Yugi didn't know was riding on the horse next to a cart that was pulled by a very exhausted horse. And on the cart...

There he was, Yugi was sure, there was no second person that possessed hair like that, no one aside from Yugi. There seemed to be other people with him, but that didn't matter now.

"Before you do something stupid, they will kill you if you even move your hand for a sword." The voice was weaker than Yugi remembered it being, but it was undoubtedly the prince.

His heart leaped with happiness. He wanted to rush to him, but the sight of the man on the horse, most probably the duke himself, stopped him.

"Another one of your tricks? Your people will not pose a threat to mine!" The man shouted. His only answer was the prince's laugh.

"My people might not. But the guardians will. We are within their walls. Rules apply." The cart and the duke were still approaching so Yugi could see the murderous aura around the duke.

He was not like Yugi imagined him. He was expecting an old, maybe middle-aged man with silver hair and plenty of gold. The duke was young. He seemed younger than the prince, and his hair were black, not silver. There was an earring hanging from his ear, its shape resembling that of a dice.

Yugi's blood ran cold.

Was he to once again watch his peer being killed by the prince? True, the man oozed murder at the moment, but... But.

"You bastard. What do you expect me to do then? Let you go?!" The duke shouted.

"No. If you want to still humiliate and kill me, you can still do it. But you must win the game first. That's the rule." The prince answered, his back still to Yugi. Even though his words were confident as always, Yugi was sure that something was wrong.

"Excuse me?" The man screamed. He stopped in front of their group. The prince was still on the cart and still not turning towards his own friends.

"The Paradox Fields are a place of intellectual battle. You can only kill someone after you've bested them in a game of your choice. If you attempt violence, the guardians will kill you. And you've seen how efficient they are. " The prince calmly responded.

"I could order Mako to simply slit your throat right now. And you will be dead, since all it would take was one move of his hand." The duke pondered. That answered Yugi's question of why the prince wasn't facing them.

"Yes. And Mako will be killed seconds later. Are you really going to sacrifice his life so that you have your revenge?" That gave the duke a pause. "I will not run. You want to challenge me, and I will be happy to take your challenge. Let me go to my people."

That seemed to be a wrong thing to say.

"After what you have done with mine?!" Yugi looked at Mana. She seemed to be lost as well.

"I've done nothing to your men. You sent them into the Maze, you didn't know how the Maze works. You led them to their death, not me."

The duke looked as if he was going to cry and Yugi immediately felt sympathy for the man. From what he had heard he could imagine, what happened. That explained the prince's words about 'the rules of the Maze coming to their aid.'. Truly, Yugi couldn't blame the duke. What happened was terrible, the prince's gamble was much more terrifying than Yugi previously thought. But, if the duke's army was to come here, they would be dead. With that many people, they would stand no chance, the prince wouldn't even get the chance to warn the troops against fighting. It was a frightening gamble. But it worked.

For now.

"Let him go." The duke managed and he jumped off his horse. Yugi and the rest took a few steps back, in case it was some kind of a scheme.

The two guards left the cart, one of them, Mako, hiding the knife he was previously holding against the prince's throat.

The second guard was a girl. Both of the approached their duke, their faces grim and hard.

The prince jumped off the cart. His legs seemed to give up, for he fell to his knees. Not thinking much, Yugi passed the duke and his men and ran to the prince's side, catching the man by his arms.

"Yugi. You've made it." Was the first thing the prince said, a fond smile on his face. But instead of happiness, Yugi felt tears gathering in his eyes. The prince's face was covered in blood, his cheek was swollen and his voice was weak. When Yugi looked closely, he could see the red, thin line on the throat that suggested, that at some point Mako's hand slipped.

Relief, worry and fear filled Yugi's mind and all he could do was to throw his arms around prince's neck and cry. He didn't care that he was embarassing himself, he didn't care that the duke could kill him and the prince any moment.

All that counted was that the prince returned.

Hurt and weak, but he had returned. Yugi had not been waiting in vain.

"I'm happy to see you too." The prince whispered, so silently that Yugi almost missed it. Then, he felt a hand on his back, moving in calming gesture. It felt eerily familiar, but Yugi didn't care.

The prince was alive.

"That's touching. I should've known. You gave away the pyramid. We should've killed the look-alike." The duke said from somewhere afar.

"I would say 'I dare to see you try', seeing how you had not managed not to my cousin when he literally let you take him, but I don't have to." That was Timaeus.

Yugi finally let go of the other man and helped him up.

Mana and Timaeus were guarding them with their bodies from the duke and his guards, judging from the positions they were standing in. Joey was close behind, his fist ready.

But the duke made no move to attack them.

In fact, he looked as if he had some kind of epiphany.

The guards were looking at him with worry, clearly not understanding what was going on.

"I have lost already, haven't I?" The duke asked, looking at the prince in fear. " All of this chase, you surrendering at leading me here... It was one big game and I lost. I let myself be deceived, I was so sure I had the upper hand that I haven't noticed... I didn't even think..."

The prince seemed to be taken aback by this., Yugi noticed. He himself was as surprised.

"I wasn't lying. If you want to challenge me, I will take the challenge. You might win."

The duke gave him defeated look. " After my men had beaten you and starved you? Yes, that would be a spectacular win. I'd get my revenge, but I'd never regain reputation. I'd win like a coward, provided I'd even had any chance to win!"

"You could choose the game we'd playing." The prince argued.

"Beating you at my own game would be cheap. Getting beaten by you in my own game would be even worse. You planned it. You knew from the beginning, you knew that the moment we come here it is a stalemate." Here, the duke started to shake.

"I could've killed you back in the forest and it would be over. My men wouldn't have had to die, but my stupid pride..." The guards rushed to their master's side, but he pushed them aside.

"Pegasus was right. " He said, getting up." The rules are rules, aren't they? My life is yours, we are on the Fields, after all." The anger, the hurt, everything was gone from the duke. His eyes looked dead already. It was like he had lost any will to live.

And that was awful to witness.

The prince opened his mouth to say something, but his voice betrayed him. It was now, or never.

Yugi let go off the prince and approached the duke.

He was not going to watch his peer being killed by his own wish.

"Are you stupid?" He hissed, too angry to care about consequences." Yes, you've lost, but there is nothing humiliating in losing to someone who is simply better. I understand your pain, you've lost your men from what've heard, but your death is not going to change anything!"

The duke looked at him in shock. "You... how dare you..."

But Yugi wasn't having any of it.

"There are many stupid thing to die for, there are many wise things to die for. But choosing to die because you were not good enough is simply stupid! And why? Because your mentor won't admit you are the best? Well, you are not! But does not make you worthless, the fact that he will not praise you will never make you worthless. The only one who determines your worth is you." He said, and suddenly, he wasn't talking to the duke.

He was talking to himself. He was talking to that little Yugi that wanted Arkana to say something nice to him, to praise him. He talked to that older Yugi, that sought the prince's acknowledgment and saw himself as strong only because the prince told him he was.

"And if you really are willing to die, to let your companion watch you getting killed, then you have declared yourself worth nothing. Do you really think your life to be worth nothing? Do you think those soldiers who died at your command would've agreed?"

That seemed to struck a chord.

"Then what should I do?" The duke asked quietly, and it was Yugi's turn to stare, perplexed.

"Join us. We are not fighting for anyone's approval, we are not just a rag-tag group of rebels. Since your people had to die in the Maze, let their death mean something. Come with us and live, get better and wiser. " He was well aware now, that he was stepping on a very thin ice. The prince was still quiet, and Timaeus and Mana rushed to his side. There was no one to protect him from the duke. There was no one to protect him from the prince, for he had done it yet again. He had interfered.

"It's not that easy... Aknadin..."

"It is never easy. Many right things are not. " Everyone turned, for this voice belonged to the prince.

" You have proved that despite your temperament you are honourable. You care for your people, which is much more than what could be said about your current king." These words seemed to break the duke.

"Sometimes killing is not the only option." Yugi added. The duke's eyes came back to life with determination.

"What killed my troops was my pride. I will not let it get best of me again. " He said, looking at Yugi. Then, his eyes travelled to where the prince was standing. " Yet, I cannot forgive you, not yet. Maybe not ever."

"I do not care for anyone's forgiveness. I do what is necessary." The prince replied, his voice getting stronger with every word. The duke nodded

"And I shall do the same. " Once again, the duke moved his gaze to Yugi. "I shall think on your words. I think before any one decided anything, we all need rest. " He added, and with that, he went to his men. " Prepare the tents. We'll wait for survivors here for as long as we can."

Yugi turned to his companions. They were staring at him in silence. Timaeus was half-carrying the prince towards their horses.

"Yugi, that was... intense..." Joey started, worry evident in his voice. Mana was also moved, judging from the trembling Yugi felt when she hugged him.

"What you did was brave and wise but..." She didn't need to finish. Yugi knew exactly what she wanted to say. He had overstepped the boundaries. And he remembered all too well what the prince promised him if he ever did it again.

Oh, gods, what would Anzu say? What would she think if he doesn't return, what would she think when Mana or Joey had told her what Yugi had done?

"Oh, thank gods that you haven't seen his face..." Mana sobbed. A shiver went up and down Yugi's spine. It was a while since he had been truly afraid of the prince. And even now, he was almost refusing to believe that this time he was done for good. But Mana's words destroyed that illusion.

He looked at the other side of the Fields. The duke and his men were busy setting up a camp from what they've had on the cart.

He looked at their side of the Fields. Timaeus had set up tent for the prince already, and the prince was gone from sight, possibly treating his wounds inside. He couldn't kill Yugi in the Maze, that much was obvious, but later... They'd have to leave the Maze someday.

He could stay here and... No, he couldn't. That would be a cowardly thing to do. And he was no coward, not anymore. He did what was right. And if the prince thought differently, it was his mistake.

"Don't worry about me. Let's set up our own camp. The prince is not going anywhere in this daylight. Not to mention that he must be exhausted."

"Yeah. And they probably won't murder us as long as people in blue capes are here, so I'm all for sleeping. I mean, my poor heart can take only so much of tension." Joey joked and Mana and Yugi chuckled politely.

"Well, no matter what happens, we are coming home soon." Mana pointed out, and that was a good thought to have.

He wanted to go home.

He wanted to return to his sister, to Mahad and Mai, to their evening games and everything. He won't die. The prince was not stupid. He will talk to him, he will convince him.

After all, it would be stupid to give a lecture over the importance of human life, only to accept the death punishment for it.

With that thought in mind, Yugi approached the prince's tent, his own forgotten, lying in the heap as Timaeus helped Joey set up his.

"Excuse me, Your Highness... Can I enter?" He tried, erratic beating of his heart almost muting his own voice to his ears. He might tell himself that it would be all right, but his body refused to acknowledge it.

"Come in." There was nothing in that tone that would tell Yugi what was awaiting him.

He entered, bowing to fit in the tent. It was not exactly small, but it wasn't high enough to fit him standing. So he simply sat down on the ground. Wondering if looking at the prince now was a wise thing to do.

He took a deep breath.

"I am sorry..." He started, but was immediately silenced by prince's calm voice.

"You are brave, we knew that already. You are also stupid, for we both know what I promised you will happen if you disobey me again. And yet here you are." The tone was strange. The prince didn't sound angry, and when Yugi finally gathered up his courage to look at the prince, his expression also wasn't one of anger.

"You abandon me to talk to my enemy and convince him to live. You tell him how dying is a stupid thing to do and how forgiveness and doing good is better than revenge, and all I can do is listen to you speak." The prince moved closer.

"You are not an asset, Yugi. You change my plans, you refuse to back down, believing that compassion and understanding are more important, than reason. And I still cannot agree with you. And yet, it was you who had finally defeated the duke, not me. I brought you here so that you will learn. So that your innocent, naive heart will change and become like mine." The prince continued, and Yugi was fairly sure that this time, he's going to die.

"I don't want that anymore. It is not a shame to lose to someone better. Then, I lose." What? Yugi raised his head to look at the prince, and his eyes met the red ones, sparkling with something Yugi had not seen before." I want your heart, Yugi."

And that was the last thing Yugi heard before those red eyes came nearer and he felt pair of lips covering his.


	15. Chapter 15

Whoa, I took my time with writing it, and it is so short ;_; But I assure you, I'm doing my best here. My studies don't like me working on anything else.

But I want to thank all of you and each one individually, thank you for reading and reviewing this story, it always makes me so happy and motivates to write, thanks!

Today we're leaving Maze City for good and Yugi discovers something new inside him: bitterness.

* * *

Yugi would like for the rest of the day to pass him by, to simply be in such a daze that he wouldn't notice it. People in books often did that, disregarded their reality because of their inner turmoil. Unfortunately for him, Yugi experienced something completely different.

He was hyperaware of reality. He was well aware of the moment prince's lips left his, and of the smile on the other man's face that for a short second looked sinister and then morphed into fondness Yugi knew so well. He knew that he had not reacted, for he had no idea how to react.

The idea of a kiss did not bother him so much, after all people kissed each other all the time. Mother kissed him an Anzu all the time, father did too. Anzu sometimes still pecked him on the cheek. Arkana kissed his mistresses lustfully and unabashedly, young and old couples back in the town exchanged chaste kisses on daily basis. There was nothing perplexing about kiss itself. But kisses were given in certain situations and relationships, and Yugi had no idea as to what this kiss was supposed to mean. Neither books, nor experience provided him with any explanation as to why two grown men could kiss. Especially, them. People kissed each other when they loved each other. Yet this was not the relationship Yugi and the prince had. So why? How should he react?

The prince didn't seem perturbed by Yugi's lack of response. He simply said. "Think about it." and laid down on his blanket, or whatever, clearly waiting for Yugi to go away.

With an unsure bow of his head, Yugi left the tent, still, the daze didn't come. He felt his heart beating almost painfully, he felt that his hand, the one that was for a moment covered with prince's, was trembling, and instead of blankness in his mind, he could feel myriads of emotion.

He could hear Timaeus and Joey exchanging quips and discussing many different ways of making tents, both men determined to prove to the other that they were in fact, a better expert on the subject.

He could see Mana, apparently bored with the horses, stealing glances at the duke's side of the field, probably once again dealing with her guilty conscience and wondering, whether approaching their sort of new allies with her condolences would be appropriate.

He was getting good at reading his companions, so why couldn't he read the prince? Why couldn't he see into himself? He thought that their relationship resembling apprentice and his mentor, was unclear before, now it was... even harder to name.

Yugi glanced at the duke's camp.

No changes there, so with nothing better to do, he got on with his own tent.

It was not that he didn't like the kiss. It didn't repulse him, sure, he was taken aback, but that's it.

It was not that he didn't like the prince, he wasn't that ignorant of his feelings.

It wasn't even that they were both men, because the novelty of it aside, there was nothing wrong with it, not as far Yugi knew.

And yet, something about the kiss felt wrong. No, it was even before. Prince's words... He said something about wanting Yugi's heart.

And the old Yugi, the one that didn't know the prince at all, that Yugi would understand it immediately as a love confession. After all, when people were in love, they talked of hearts, of taking them and giving them all around, as if they were even able to do that.

The slightly less old Yugi, the one terrified by the prince would take it as a threat that the monstrous, nocturnal prince wants to rip Yugi's heart out of his chest and do gods now what with it.

But this current Yugi was a sum of all older Yugis, and he was terrified. He was terrified, that he was being manipulated. The words, the kiss, the smile...

Everything.

Everything warned him.

Oh, it actually worked. He was so focused on his thoughts that he actually managed to raise his tent.

Yugi sighed.

No sense in stressing over it now. They had not much time for relaxation, soon there will be more important tasks and worries that Yugi's mind could latch on.

Besides, what reason could the prince have for manipulating Yugi? The duke, yes... Not that Yugi would be keen on seeing the prince actually doing that, kissing the duke and smiling at him and... Doesn't matter.

More important things were at work right now. Yugi could examine his heart like young maidens from his books later.

Or simply not live long enough to worry about it.

The moment Yugi was joined by the rest of his companions for a meal, his thoughts has moved on from the kiss.

Munching on bread and wondering whether making a fire would be against the rules, they observed men approaching the duke's camp, discussing whether the strength in number would cause the duke to change his mind.

Yugi doubted it.

He spend the rest of the day observing the other camp, and any thoughts of the prince were absent from his mind.

They returned at night.

/

"They are not coming back." Serenity started and Anzu didn't really have the strength or belief to convince the girl otherwise. She was too, giving up on hope. Mai rolling her eyes every time she caught them doing that was not helping. Anzu liked the blond woman very much, but in this case, she was truly angry.

Mai was accustomed to waiting for her companions to come back, she knew from the experience that they returned from far worse perils, Anzu reasoned, that's why she was so... detached. Or, maybe she was too, so scared that she simply acted as she did, to hide from them and from her own self how worried she was. No matter the reason, Anzu would appreciate it if she could kindly stop.

Truly, the only thing keeping her from shouting at Mai was the fact that Mahad would simply laugh it off, and that she had something else to occupy her mind. The plan Mai introduced seemed risky at best and foolish by definition, as Mahad summarized it, but it here Anzu had to agree with Mai. Apparently, plans changed and if they were truly running out of time, it was the best plan they could come up with.

That, and Anzu couldn't deny the simple truth that she simply liked the plan. It was like in that books father read- a daring plan, when everything seems to go wrong, only to come out great in the end. The day will be saved, a kiss will be shared, and all of this in amazing clothes they were designing right now.

It was that stage, taking measurements and sewing the clothes that kept Anzu from arguing with Mai too much, and it was the only thing that held Serenity as well. Since the poor girl couldn't see, her needlework was far from satisfactory, but her fingers were good enough to rip, shred, and in any other way damage and separate pieces of materials they needed. That, and she was actually a good company, because she spoke of her worries out loud, unlike some Anzu could name.

"Their loss." Mai answered curtly, not even looking up from her work" If they do not come back they will not wear these beauties. " That was almost kind of her. She _was worried,_ Anzu realized. Mai was also getting worried.

"I don't think Joey would miss wearing anything very much. He never cares for his clothes." Serenity responded, and Anzu thanked all the god she knew, that the poor girl didn't start using past tense. That would crush them, all three of them.

"Well, look at Mahad! He even stitched his tunic after the attack!" Mai shouted, forcing cheerfulness in her voice and waving at Mahad, who had just entered the living room in which they opened their 'tailor business', as he called it. " A man after my own heart, that's the kind of gentleman for m to marry!" Serenity chuckled at that and Mahad was doing his best not to betray any emotion. But he was failing, his eyebrow was twitching.

He muttered" Gods forbid" and sat down on a sofa, next to Serenity .

"Are you feeling well enough for another lesson?" Serenity nodded.

Mahad started to move around two days after the rest of the company was gone, despite Mai calling him irresponsible and 'bad example for young ladies present here', but since he wasn't bleeding on Anzu's furniture and seemed to be more or less alive, she couldn't fault him and torment him as Mai did. He too, couldn't stand the idle waiting, and simply reading more and more concerned reports of others. So he did what he did before he was hurt, namely trained Serenity.

Anzu wasn't sure why, but for some time, their lessons were private, Mai and Anzu were no longer invited to join the other two, at some point they were even out rightly forbidden to come in while the training was in session.

"He is training her to be a witch, just you see." Mai commented at some point, and Anzu had a feeling she wasn't entirely joking.

She herself fought as best as she could with the overwhelming feeling of uselessness. True, Mai was in the same situation, theoretically, but she was not behaving like an understanding ally, so Anzu didn't try to look for support in her.

Therefore, when she wasn't preparing the clothes to the action that was not even official, Anzu busied herself with restoring her house to its previous glory. Mother's things that were stored in Arkana's room, she moved back where was their place.

The rooms she and Yugi occupied during their childhood, now seemed too small. They stayed as they were, full of pastels, with animals drawn by their mother's hand, now faded and covered with dust. She cleaned them as well as she could, but they were simply there, not used by anyone. The knights were sleeping in what was servant's quarters, Anzu and Yugi took their parents' bedrooms and the prince was in grandfather's room. Anzu couldn't recall grandfather at all, but from father's stories, he was an interesting man. He always left the mansion to look for adventures and left gifts from his travels during this short periods when he was back.

When Anzu ran out of rooms to restore, she started to compare old butler's catalogues with the one she was doing, looking for things Arkana sold, lost or damaged. Yugi told her how much he loved this house, and no matter whether he was coming back or not, she was going to return this house to him in the best shape possible.

A week has passed, and still, they were nowhere to be seen. Mahad said that the road to Maze City should take a day, two if one was taking many breaks. Week had seven days. They should be here by now, they should be here long time ago.

And yet, Mahad refused to let Mai go search for them.

Maybe he knew something Anzu didn't.

She was feeling that everybody knew something she didn't on a daily basis, since the knights first arrived, but now she was no longer willing to let it stay this way. She was angry, tired and missing her brother, the least she could do was gather information.

No more feeling guilty after listening to conversations, no more hesitation. If they were all in some kind of game, she was no one else's piece, just her own.

/

It should be fitting that they were coming back in the night.

The prince and the rest had arrived this way before and apparently, they were going to repeat it with gusto, for it was long after midnight when Yugi finally spotted the lights of his home city.

"Oh, great. We are finally here" Said Timaeus on Yugi's right, stealing a glance at his cousin that led the whole party, the duke firmly by his side.

It was the duke and his men that caused them to wait so much. They spent two whole days sitting on the Fields, until the duke finally accepted the harsh truth, that these twenty people that joined him was all that was left of his whole squadron. When that thought finally settled in, the duke, grieving and hurting, once again trained to bring the prince to justice, but this time, Yugi's foolish rant was not needed.

The prince, his wounds still evident, managed to talk the duke out of violence.

Even though the duke still preferred to deal with Yugi whenever he could, an uneasy truce was forming. With alliance in place and the survivors treated and fed, they should be ready to go. But this time, the City stood on their way. Finding a way out of the Fields that neither the prince nor any of duke's soldiers knew was hard. Every time they managed to find one of the exits, one of duke's men would raise his hand and fear evident in his voice would say 'I passed that way once'.

After fifth attempt, Yugi was sulking. Truly, it must be fun to be a soldier. So many places they could see, so many adventures they had. True, they died horribly when the occasion called, but hey, at least they could say they actually have been in this City before. Or any other city for that matter.

Like the duke. Who was probably everywhere and now was telling this to the prince, that's why the prince is looking at him with such an interest. Not because he was of nobility, had long black hair, intelligent eyes and was mentored by the same guy, and certainly not because he found the duke much more interesting than his previous companion, the peasant boy Yugi.

If someone asked, Yugi would admit to feeling a little bitter. Even since the prince kissed him, the universe made sure that a) Yugi never forgets it, because he was reminded of it every time he even glanced at the prince, and b) they never get a chance to discuss what happened, because the prince was constantly by the duke's side.

Mana was sulking openly, because she was not as invested as Yugi.

"Gods, I hate looking at them. I know, we are on the same side suddenly, but... There is some other universe when he and his army slaughtered us all." She whispered to Yugi during one of their breaks.

"I think the duke's men are thinking the same." Yugi offered, not even bothering to be subtle about stealing glances at the men camping in a safe distance from them. The prince and the duke of course had their own fire.

"Pshh. They look like they are too good for us suddenly." Joey muttered, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"Well, they need to keep each other in check. Out prince cannot let the duke to conspire with his men, and the duke is preventing our prince from doing the same. They are keeping each other close until they figure out whether we are truly friends, or cloaked enemies." Timaeus explained, and Yugi was struck with the observation, that Timaeus was here. He was an actual king.

"Shouldn't be there, at the High and Mighty fire?"

"No, Joey, apparently I do not qualify. Nobody wants to conspire with me." He said it jokingly, and yet for a second Yugi felt Timaeus's gaze on him. He still didn't have the time or even opportunity to think on what the king told him. Too much was happening right now to even bother about the future.

Their next break ended with a big discussion and brought the duke's men and Yugi's friends closer together. While their leaders were busy arguing, the poor common folk sat together at the fire and swapped stories of the Maze.

Yugi got fed up with the topic very soon, not seeing any truth in what Mana told as his story of beating the Maze, and stood up. He walked for a moment, careful to stay close to the fire so that he won't be overlooked when the break was over and he somehow misses it.

From his spot he had a good view on two men, still whispering furiously and exchanging what Yugi assumed, were threats.

He was supposed to be the prince's advisor, wasn't he? So in the time like this, shouldn't the prince require his presence? Apparently not, for Yugi spend all the break waiting for a call that did not come. The leaders somehow resolved whatever problem they had and the whole party, now on slightly better terms, moved on.

And finally, they could see Yugi's home.

He was sure glad to be back.

"Men, we are staying here. " The duke suddenly said, not without a glare directed at the prince, who answered with a glare of his own. " The Mad Prince and his people go back to their base. We are not to know where it is. We shall meet here every noon to discuss our next actions. Prepare the camp!" And with few nods and waves directed at the prince's party, the duke's men went on their way.

"We are coming back." That's all the prince said to them. But it was quite enough, for all four of them simply hastened their horses.

"Why are we leaving them here?" Yugi asked Mana, but it was the prince who answered, his horse suddenly in one line with Mana and Yugi's ones.

"That's what the duke wanted to know too, that's why he was so angry earlier. I trust them as much as I can, but your house is not a castle, nor it is a military base. There are innocent civilians in the house and I cannot take such a risk, to bring an army on their doorstep. I promised you to protect this house, Yugi, and I shall do that." The red eyes gave Yugi a short, inquisitive look, as if they were waiting for Yugi to protest, but all Yugi was able to do, was to lower his head.

The prince did it for him. He protected Yugi's house. It made his heart skip a beat and that unfortunate kiss was once again on Yugi's mind.

"Hey, look ahead!" Mana shouted, and he raised his head. The prince was once leading them, this time with Timaeus by his side.

"So that's what they were fighting about. Interesting." That was all Mana had to offer on the subject.

But soon, it didn't matter.

They were once again riding up the hill to the mansion.

Few moment later, they were already on the grass, jumping down from their horses, Joey volunteering to take them to the stable.

Even thought they were trying to keep quiet, the door opened before any of them could touch the doorknob.

"You are terribly late."

* * *

Next on: The Big Plot, The Pretty Dress, And One More Kiss. Stay tuned ;-)

Oh, and Happy New Year, everyone!


	16. Chapter 16

I'd like to thank all of you who didn't give up on this story. You are great and this is for you!

* * *

At first, Yugi's heart froze.

Late, late for what? Did Mahad die? Oh gods, no, have something happened to Serenity? To Anzu?

But before Yugi could work himself into full-blown panic, Mai grinned.

"You are so late that everyone else is asleep. No food for you." Yugi released breath he wasn't aware he was holding.

"I assume that apart from that everything is well?" The Prince asked, a smirk present on his face, distracting enough to overlook how tired he still looked. But Mai was an old friend and she wasn't fooled.

"Better than whatever you all been up to, your Majesty. You've looked more handsome when you left."

"And here I thought you preferred me beaten up and battered." The prince answered with an easy smile and Yugi tried his best not to read too much into that. He failed. Was Mai loyal to the prince because she was in love with him? It seemed unlikely and honestly, the thought had never entered his mind before but now… No everything was confusing.

Gods, he wanted to see Anzu. But he assumed she wouldn't want to be wakened in the middle of the night. Not again, with soldiers entering her house. He was suddenly grateful that the duke's men were staying outside of the town. This house had too much history with soldiers invading it.

They entered as quietly as they could, ignoring for the time being their hunger. They could wait a little longer and as far as Yugi was concerned, sleep looked like a better option now.

He couldn't think too much when he slept. Before he went upstairs, he heard Mai giving the prince a silent report on what they were doing while the prince's party was away. He didn't hear much, but he heard a word 'plan'. Maybe the Prince would remember that Yugi was supposed to be his advisor and would share the plan with him in the morning. Maybe. But then again, Mahad was here and he was the main advisor, Yugi was just a stand-in. Maybe he was just a substitute for Mahad, maybe the Prince and Mahad…

Oh, he was going mad.

Sleep, sleep was a very good option.

Provided, of course, that one was able to sleep.

/

Anzu should have known that it was too easy. When she woke up to the sight of Yugi grinning at her from beside her bed she was so happy that everything she could possibly worry about, skipped her mind.

She hugged him as strongly as she could without hurting him and just held him in silence, not asking how his mission went. It didn't matter. He was here, he was with her, alive and unharmed, and it was all that she cared about. He seemed as happy to be back home as she was to welcome him there. The two of them went down to the breakfast already made and Mai describing something dramatically to Mahad over the omlettes. She was having fun and Mahad was amused and Anzu felt strangely at home. Yugi was with her, there were people arguing in the kitchen and no one was dead, no one was sad. And they were ready, they were finally ready.

When Anzu and Yugi joined the other two and sat at the table, Anzu didn't even care about the mission Yugi just returned from. He returned and frankly, listening to the story could wait. Maybe she was somehow afraid of what she might hear. Maybe something in Yugi's expression warned her that she would not like whatever he had to tell. So she waited. She poured him tea and watched him praise it, as if he had not drank it in a while. He probably hadn't. The next person to stumble into the dining room was Mana, aided by Serenity. Usually it should be other way around, but Mana looked far less aware of her surroundings than Serenity did.

"I am the hero. We all are. We should be allowed to sleep as long as we want." Mana complained as Serenity lowered her on a chair and chuckled.

"I didn't wake you." Anzu defended, amused. It was good to have Mana back, the house was too silent without her, though Mai tried to emit same kind of energy and enthusiasm Mana usually showed.

"No, the Prince did. Forget everything I said about him, he is evil and should not be trusted." She muttered darkly. The Prince awake at this hour, with sun still shining? That was unheard of.

"And where is he now?" That was Joey asking, sounding as tired as Mana, though slightly more cheerful. He glanced at Serenity with fondness, but not longing, so Anzu assumed they had their share of greetings already. She looked at Yugi who smiled at her. Oh, gods, it was so good to have them back. The breakfast was a pleasant affair, though as it was nearing to an end, it started to worry her that no one was saying anything. Even Timaeus who joined them last and seemed to be in a fairly good mood, was unusually silent. As if no one wanted to tell them what exactly happened. They were relaxed, so it was unlikely that they failed and yet…

"I think it is time for us to learn what you were up to. You were gone for some time. Reports came and went and you were not here to read them, we had to act in your stead. So I propose a deal. You tell us what you did and then we will return the favour. Whose story is better is excused from washing up duty." Thank gods for Mai and her energy. Everyone present simply nodded, grateful that the tension would stop. The air was filled with everything they weren't saying to sustain the cheerful atmosphere of homecoming and it seemed that Anzu was not the only one fed up with it. Maybe she would learn why Yugi appeared… Distracted.

" We accept the proposal. Ladies first." Timaeus answered and Mai rolled her eyes at him.

"I don't think so. You were gone and risked your lives, entertain us."

"Seconded." Mahad added and Serenity echoed immediately after.

Joey sighed tiredly.

"Fine. I would prefer to forget everything, to be quite honest, so I am pleading oath of silence. I don't want to be the one to tell the story. It's too glorious for my tongue anyway." He added with a smile obviously directed at Mai.

"Mana?" Mahad prompted and the girl blushed slightly. And then, she started talking…

/

Yugi listened to the story with some kind of detachment. He knew it already and frankly, it wasn't as perplexing as what Mana was not telling. She had no idea of what Timaeus told Yugi, of what he asked him to do. She didn't know what happened between Yugi and the prince either and all that was left was almost a cheerful story of unlikely alliances and Yugi's bravery. Anzu made outraged and surprised noises in few places, squeezing Yugi's hand tightly under the table, as if reassure herself that after all that she was hearing, he was still here.

He was, but he wasn't the same as he was before, that was for sure. It all seemed unreal, and suddenly the dream, that strange dream of darkness came back to his mind. Who Yugi actually was?

He wasn't a genius, though Mana called him that. He wasn't a good person, though Timaeus believed he was. He wasn't Anzu's little brother anymore, a fact that started to be obvious even to Anzu as she listened to what happened in the Maze City. He wasn't the prince's advisor anymore. Then who? He was well aware that he was doing it again. Defining himself by whom he was with, by his relationships to other people. He always considered himself to be someone's something. He was Anzu's brother, Joey's friend. Mother's son. Then, he was a companion. To Mana, to Mai. Then, he was a trusted friend to the Prince. And then, the borders got mudded and he no longer had any idea.

He was just Yugi.

Simply Yugi, though at the moment, he didn't know what that meant. But he was left by himself, despite many relationships to people that were in the room, he was no longer defined by them. He couldn't piece himself together from what they thought about him because he was aware that they didn't know everything. They probably never will. He was the only one who knew the whole story, who would ever know what was going on in his head. And though he would always be able to count on them, on his friends, he was something else now. He didn't know whether he should thank the prince or curse him for it. He didn't notice when Mana stopped talking or when Anzu threw her arms around him, but he noticed the tears that were now trickling down his sister's face.

"Hey, it's alright." He managed. Hugging her as much as he could, despite his sore muscles.

"Oh, Yugi." Somehow it conveyed everything. That she was worried. That she was proud. That she was angry at him for risking his life and that she was so happy that he succeeded. That she loved him, even though she too, had no idea who he was anymore.

"What about you? You said you were busy as well?" Joey prompted and the moment passed. Anzu let go off Yugi and sat back in her seat, her eyes already dry. She was shaken by what had happened to them, but she wouldn't dwell on it anymore. She too, had changed during his absence, Yugi realized.

"Yes. We got very promising reports from both Ryou and Marik. We decided to prepare ourselves for another part of the plan." Mai replied, a satisfied smirk on her face betraying her actual excitement.

"I wasn't aware there was another plan in motion?" Timaeus hesitated, looking at Mahad, who simply shrugged.

"Oh, it came to life while you were absent. Crawford is holding a ball in his palace and apparently, no one from the royal family is invited."

"Nothing suspicious here, he is just a provincional lord…"

"Yes, but some people from the royal council have been invited. No one admits it out loud and the list of guests is not a public knowledge, but Ryou has reasons to suspect that Crawford may no longer be loyal to the king. Or at least, wants to consider not being loyal." Mai replied.

"It might be a ploy." Mana pointed out.

"Or a great occasion we cannot pass. We must consider our options carefully." Mahad answered and Mana fell silent.

"So, what do you have in mind?"

"Well, as you know, I've been keeping touch with Mr. Arkana's mistresses, just in case some of them would wonder why he is no longer writing…" That got Yugi's attention. Judging from Anzu's face, it was news to her as well. Of course, how could they forget? With so many mistresses running around, it was too much of a good luck that not even one wondered what happened, not popped up for a visit. They were both so drunk on their newfound freedom that they forgot about obvious dangers. Thank gods for Mai.

"Madame Wong was very grateful for all the gifts I brought her as compensation for her loss of a potential husband, we have an understanding. " Here, Mai winked. Yugi was now assured that he wasn't wrong when he thought that Madame Wong was not exactly fooled by Arkana's manners and wealth. She got over his death pretty quickly. Unless, of course, Mai fed her some different kind of lie, but it didn't seem likely. Maybe she just omitted how exactly he died.

"She was one of the invited ladies and wrote Lord Crawford a letter in which she inquired if she could bring her young relatives with her. She delicately complained that her sister-in-law came from over the seas with her daughters and it would be a shame not to attend the ball but she would not dare to leave them alone. Lord Crawford extended the invitation."

"That's why you smiled when you saw _Cinderella_!" Anzu exclaimed and Mai gave her a smile.

"Indeed. It gave me the idea. Crawford hasn't ever seen any of us, aside from Mana, so we should be able to go there unnoticed. If he is really plotting something, we might get further intel." The table fell silent and Yugi had a feeling he wasn't the only one that found something lacking in this plan. It wasn't that he doubted Serenity or Anzu's skills of persuasion, but if he understood correctly, the only person that could potentially sway him was the prince himself. He had a deep regard for the prince's strategist mind and… Frankly, Yugi was sure that it all would end up in a game between the prince and Lord Crawford, that just like the duke, he could be convinced by the mere majesty of the prince. To do it by plotting and women wiles? It sounded… Unfitting. Or maybe he was too caught up in the scheming, in prince's mind games and stopped being able to see the bigger picture. Oh, if only the prince was here. Maybe Yugi no longer needed his guidance to define himself, but he would appreciate it to help him make sense of everything that was going on.

"Why is Lord Crawford so crucial?" He asked, an unusual force in his tone.

"I am aware that he is the Lord of the North, but we could have easily leave him alone until every other region was under our influence. Or the Prince could just crown himself and demand loyalty. And yet, we are all concerned on both the duke and now Crawford. Why?"

"Yeah, thank you. Yugi is asking the real questions here. What is so important about them?"

"That is an easy question, Yugi. I rather thought you have already figured out the answer." Came the voice from the kitchen door. As everyone turned towards the door, they saw the Prince standing there with a very awkward looking Duke. If Mahad or anyone else was surprised to see him, they didn't show it and Yugi was taken aback with how young and unsure the Duke now looked. He was very brave too, if he decided to trust the Prince and come here without his troops, to the house he knew hid the Prince's met. And yet, here he was.

"This is Otogi, Duke of Devlin. Since we are having a war council, I assumed our new ally would want to be included. After all, we are trying to trust each other." Here, Yugi was sure that the Prince looked at him on purpose. What was it, however, Yugi wasn't sure. To reassure him that the Prince was still to be trusted? That he trusted Yugi? That he thought Yugi was right in saving the Duke's life?

The Duke was now introducing himself to everyone and though the rest seemed wary, they replied in a kind. When he got to Yugi, he even smiled weakly. Then, he finally sat down next to Serenity and relaxed a little, as if sure that no harm could come to him as long as he sat next to a blind girl.

"To answer Yugi's question – because they were the only ones that had power and skills to stop us. Two greatest minds in the kingdom turning against us, that would be something even the bravest troops like would not be able to handle. Even if we won and took the capital and the throne, they would be still free to take it back and I am quite sure they would do it." Yugi glanced at the Duke and saw that despite his hatred towards the prince, a hatred that was well-founded and strong, he basked in the compliments. He wanted his rival to respect him and Yugi was once again hit with realization that this was how the Prince earned another ally. It was a manipulation and it turned out that it was successful.

"Besides, I was always sure that there was always a slight chance that they might want to join us. They are both intelligent people who care about their people. Though north had been left alone, they were informed of the state of the country and considering that Otogi is here with us, I see that I didn't overestimate him. With his help, we can convince Pegasus to come with us and get rid of the usurper." The Prince explained and sat down on a chair that would be his forever, it seemed. No one ever sat on it since that fateful night he came to this house and spared the lives of its owners. It all seemed like from a fairy tale, a fairy tale that somehow became real and was affecting Yugi's life.

A fairy tale in which Yugi wasn't sure which role he played. Was he a protagonist? A villain? A sidekick?

"I am still not sure what I am doing here, but I owe something to the people that died because of my stupidity and my lack of ability to deal with Crawford. Therefore I will aid you as much as I can. The Mad Prince…" Here, the Duke fell silent, looking at the prince as if waiting for reaction. There was none, the Prince was still looking at him in concentration.

"It would be easier if I knew your name." The Duke prompted.

"I suppose so." Was the Prince's only answer. The Duke frowned, but continued anyway.

"Your prince explained to me the plan to convince Pegasus during his ball. Plan good as any, provided that it is polished a bit. Swaying Crawford is one thing, but the people of the North… That is another thing entirely and I think that more than just spies should go there."

"That's what I figured." Mai muttered and Anzu murmured something about men's clothing, though what, Yugi couldn't hear.

"The ladies should look and act as aristocracy, after all lords would only follow one of their own. I have nothing to criticize your manners for, but there are dances and gestures that you'd have to learn. And, of course, I will bring the men with me." Here, the Duke cracked his first real smile. "I have been invited, after all, and I can bring my friends, if I want. Or… partners, in this case."

"With Crawford dealt with, we head for the capital. The rest is ready, Ishizu would require some help that should be easy to grant after we take the North. Aknadin is even madder than before, sending his spies across the country. After North, we are not coming back here. Not all of us, at least. " The Prince said and Anzu and Yugi exchanged glances. " The moment we leave this house, we are at the point of no return. We can only move forward... "

Here, for some reason,the Prince looked straight at Timaeus. " …Some may never come back. So cherish your last days here. We leave in two days." A

nd with that, the prince stood up and went away, leaving an air of unease after him.

Yugi didn't know what to think about all of this. He could stay here, he could say 'no, I've done my part'. But to know that Anzu, that his friends would go even so, that they might never come back and he wouldn't be there with them… That was something he couldn't possibly bear. But then again… He was changed after the Maze city, he knew he was. He wasn't sure if he wanted to change even more, wasn't sure what he would even change into. But the Prince… Leaving the Prince, that was something he simply couldn't do. And he was right, no matter if he won, or lost, the Prince wouldn't be coming back here. The little dream of all of them meeting in this house, living in this house together after all was done, was unrealistic, Yugi knew. But still, he hoped that maybe, that somehow… The Prince destroyed that in one sentence.

"He knows how to inspire people, doesn't he?" Duke's voice woke Yugi up.

"Well, I'd rather use word 'motivate', but yes, he has this way about him." The Duke just smiled weakly.

"I still sometimes think that I should bolt, should call my troops and run to Crawford, to warn him, to tell him about everything. But your Prince is right. This is bigger than me and Crawford. We are talking about thousands of people who live in terror because the king is mad with guilt and power. And as much as I still don't like him, the Mad Prince has a point. He is the better option." _Though not the best, he has a cousin, he won't leave an heir…_ But to say that now would be treason. All of them needed to believe in the Prince, that he was the only choice.

When the time came, Yugi would protect the cousin Timaeus was talking about, he would do his best. But right now his loyalty was to the Prince.

"I know that he probably didn't say that out loud, but he is very happy that you are with us." The Duke smiled more genuinely.

"He actually did, when we were on our way here. You are teaching him new tricks. If he spends even more time with you he might actually become nice." The Duke joked and with a short nod directed at Yugi he turned towards Mai who was asking him about the ball. Not really interested in the topic, Yugi turned towards Anzu.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?" She asked with a small smile which Yugi returned.

"Well, according to Mana, we are on our way to become heroes, I don't think we should complain." Anzu laughed at that.

"It is so surreal. I am afraid, no, I am even terrified, but then I think that at least we will be together in this and frankly, that is all that matters. And, of course, I am a little bit excited as well. "

"Yeah, you don't go to a ball every day." He answered and for a moment, they were again a pair of siblings happy to be together.

/

After the dinner during the Prince was absent, the atmosphere from heavy shifted to giddy.

Mai was boasting about her previous battles while Otogi, no longer wishing to be called the Duke, tried to one her up with stories of his own. Mana was complaining to Mahad about Timaeus who was, in turn, making Serenity laugh by telling her stories about Mana's childhood. Anzu would really miss them in her house when they were gone, she was sure of it. Yugi would too, judging from the sparkles that he had in his eyes every time he looked at the people around him. Right now he was speaking with Joey about their shred hatred for formal clothing and fears of having to wear such for their 'mission'.

Since they have just came back, after the dinner Mana and Yugi volunteered to do the dishes, while Otogi decided to start his first lessons in manners and ballroom dancing. He was definitely in his element, because as long as the Prince wasn't there, he seemed not exactly at ease, but at least not so tense as he was before. He twirled around with Serenity who was delighted and giggled every now and then, stepping on Otogi's foot by accident. Judging from his face, he found it charming. And so he should because she looked absolutely stunning in her dress that Anzu and Mai sew for her. Otogi was right to ask them to wear their dresses, to learn their weight and length and to learn to dance in them. Still, it was unfair, because Yugi and Joey were spared wearing their clothes. They simply put them on, decided they fit and changed back into their old ones.

Thankfully, they at least got rid of the ones from the Maze city. Anzu was sure no amount of washing it could get rid of the smell of horse sweat. That, and they didn't exactly have time to change, from what she had learned, at least not after they came to Paradox Fields. No matter their excuse, she burned that rags in the fireplace this morning and was proud of herself.

She watched Serenity and Otogi for a while, enjoying their dance but feeling somehow neglected. Yugi was dancing with Mana now, after they both defeated the mountain of dishes and though Mana was pretty graceful when she wanted to be, right now she was having way too much fun spinning Yugi around and confusing him with sudden moves, so Anzu doubted any of them learned anything. At least they had fun.

Mai and Joey were arguing, both ignoring advices Otogi was giving them, too busy deciding which one of them was worse at it. To be frank, Anzu wasn't so sure, they were both pretty terrible. At least they were dancing.

Mahad tried to dance with her but his wound didn't let him move for too long and the only other partner that could accompany her, Timaeus, disappeared somewhere, possibly deciding to sleep off the night journey. He was a king, there was a good reason to believe he already knew how to dance. Still, she would love to be included. She didn't want to complain, or to ruin the pleasure to anybody else but she was alone and not learning much.

"A lady in such a dress should be standing here alone." Came the voice from the doorway and Anzu shuddered. If it was spoken in a flirty tone, she might have laughed. But no, the Prince said it like a statement, like an universal truth. He probably didn't flirt at all, to busy with his duties, but it didn't stop Anzu's treacherous heart from skipping a bit.

"No partner for me, unfortunately." He simply nodded and with a gesture, asked her for a dance. It would look ridiculous, it should look ridiculous, she was higher than him! And yet when they started to move, she was sure that they looked amazing. She loved dancing when she was little and when father taught her, so she fell back easily into the rhythm, remembering how much joy it brought her. They weren't doing anything unusual, in fact, Anzu was sure that the Prince was simply following Otogi's instructions, for sometimes it seemed like he hesitated or didn't move fast enough, but they still managed not to get on each other's toes too much. Nevertheless, it was the best experience of her life.

Strong arms were guiding her, letting her move with grace and whenever she looked at her partner, he was wearing such a gentle smile… She barely heard music that Mahad was playing, Otogi's voice was like a distant echo. Neither of this things mattered. It was like she suddenly stopped being Anzu and became Cinderella, dancing with her prince in the moonlight. It was magical.

Though, of course, when they stopped dancing and the Prince kissed her hand, she woke up. There was no moonlight, only the lights inside the house and they were in the dining room, not a beautiful ballroom.

But still, for that short moment, she felt truly happy. Appreciated. Noticed.

 _Attractive._

The Prince thanked for the dance and all she could manage in return was a short nod, her pulse blocking any other sound.

She sat down, still dazed. For a moment there… For a moment… She thought they would kiss. That she would get a prince after all, though he wasn't exactly a fairy tale one, but she would get him. But the reality crashed into her dreams soon enough. They were on a mission here and neither of them had time for this. Maybe… Maybe later. No. Later, he would be a king and he would be even more unapproachable than before. If she wanted to act on her feelings… What feelings, exactly? Maybe it was just a magic of the moment, of the dance, of finally feeling like a lady? Maybe not. But was she ready to do anything about it and was it really worth it?

For the rest of the day, she couldn't stop thinking about this simple moment. She watched the Prince dance with Mai, both of them elegant and chatting all the time, probably bantering as it was in their habit. But he wasn't looking at Mai the way he was looking at Anzu, she was sure of that. And Joey was not looking at her the way he was looking at Mai either, though dancing him was enjoyable. He certainly learned a lot.

Otogi praised her immensely when they finally danced together and complimented her on her skills, not to mention the fact that he was a perfect gentleman and anything a girl could want, really, and yet…

Nothing was as special as that one moment. She didn't get to dance with Yugi because he disappeared from the room at some point and Anzu was a little bit ashamed that she didn't notice that earlier.

 _So cherish your last days here. We leave in two days_

Maybe she should speak to the Prince after all. Maybe if she didn't do it now, she would never do and she would regret it for the rest of her life.

This evening, she decided.

/

Yugi didn't know why it shaken him so.

The Prince had every right to dance with Anzu and Anzu had every right to enjoy it. It was just a dance, he was well aware and yet… Was that a way he himself was looking at the Prince? This besotted, enchanted glance she was giving him all the time, was that how he looked like to everyone? If so, he was horrified. It was so open, so clear what exactly she was feeling for the Prince and Yugi, her own brother, the one she was ready to protect no matter what was jealous of that. What was worse, he felt vindictive.

They didn't kiss, though Anzu clearly wanted them to.

But it didn't happen, the Prince didn't kiss her.

He kissed Yugi.

And it gave him some kind of joy, joy he tried to squash inside him fiercely. Anzu was his sister and her happiness should come before his own. Should always come before his own. And yet… The Prince already chose him, hadn't he?

Exactly… Had he?

Or was Yugi too confused by his own feelings to see exactly what was going on? Maybe it was simple, maybe it was some sort of tradition of the capitol Yugi had never heard about, maybe he was making something easy seem too grand and complicated. Perhaps he wanted it to be.

They were leaving. They were leaving in two days, in one day even and they should not be distracted by anything then. If something was to be cleared up, it should be cleared up now.

The biggest question was… What answer Yugi wanted to hear? What would make him happy, the Prince proclaiming his love for Anzu? The Prince admitting to being in love with Yugi? Or, the most probable option, the Prince saying that he doesn't love anyone, that he has never loved anyone because that was a sign of weakness and that both of them fell into his trap? That it was all just manipulation. Would the Prince confess if Yugi saw right through him? Or would he smile the same smile he just gave to Anzu and kiss Yugi again and Yugi would forget everything and be happy because, because…

Because he was in love.

Oh, how terrifying it was, to even think it. It didn't make it any less true. He wasn't the princess of this story, he realized. He was a rival. An evil stepsister. The one who wanted to destroy the heroine's happiness to achieve his own.

Because the fact that he was in love wasn't as horrible as the fact, that he wanted to be loved back. He was ready to snatch Prince's love away if he only could. That's what he had turned into. A villain. A villain that fooled everyone into thinking he was good. Noble. Self-sacrificing. But at the bottom of his little, unloving heart, he wanted something else.

No.

He would never do that to Anzu. He tried to calm himself down, he got up from his bed and walked around his room, trying to get his thoughts in order. He recalled all the games he played with the Prince, all of his loses. Has he learned anything at all from them? Did he understand the Prince better now?

Not likely… But there was something… Something important in all of their games… Ah. You always play with someone. No matter if with or against them, you play with someone. You are not the one who decides everything. He had no say in the Prince's feelings, he realized.

He couldn't influence them. The Prince felt what he felt and for whom he pleased and it was not in any way dependent on Yugi's opinions and needs. It would be the Prince's choice.

At the end of the day, all he could do was to ask the Prince and brace himself for an answer.

Assuming, of course, that it was so important that he had to ask. He returned to the bed. Maybe, if he slept long enough, his emotions would calm down and he would be able to see things more clearly. The moment he closed his eyes, he recalled the dream. The dream of darkness embracing him, talking to him… Loving him. Giving him what he wanted.

He got up.

Now or never.

/

Anzu was well aware that it took her a lot of time to finally make up her mind and move from her room to talk to the Prince, but she felt excused.

She had to decide if it was even important enough to bother him. Not to mention if it had any future to speak of. But, she decided to be true to her heart and finally ask. It would be better for her to know, no matter how it might end up. There were few worse things than uncertainty. It was after one and most probably everyone was already asleep. And even if they weren't, their quarters were on the first floor, there was no one who could disturb them. She was fairly sure that the prince was not asleep yet.

So without hesitation, she knocked on door.

There was no answer.

Maybe he wasn't there. Could she try to enter? Maybe he was asleep? Or something happened?

She rested her hand on a doorknob. Maybe he was with someone and…

That would give her an answer. No, he was genuine, their moment… It was real.

She pushed the door open.

She was welcomed with silence.

The room was dark, the curtains still closed, no matter that there was no sun to enter the room now. She could hardly see a thing with the light from the corridor, but she could see a human shape buried under the sheets. Only one.

She sighed with relief, berating herself for her stupid imagination. She closed the door as quietly as she could. If he was asleep, this could wait, after all, there was another evening. She could wait.

Somehow reassured and still curing her over creative mind, she went back to her room.

Really, what came over her?

/

When the door came closed and Anzu's footsteps faded in the distance, a man moved from behind the door and sank back into the bed.

Few moments later, the shape under the sheets turned and raised a hand, undoubtedly searching for something. For him, most possibly.

"I am here." He whispered, catching the hand and stroking it gently.

"I cannot see you." Responded the voice, barely awake. The hand touched his bare arms and moved to his torso, as if really trying to make sure he was there. It sounded as if they had this conversation before, though in which circumstances, he could not recall.

"You see me." He replied and kissed the hand again. There was a sight and the hand stilled, placing itself next to his heart.

As if to see if it was beating.

Of course it was.

It will beat as long it needed to.

Maybe if he was a better man, he would feel bad for Anzu. If he was less smart, he would have told her the truth. He would tell both of them the truth. But as it was, he needed them where he had them. Only time would tell if he chose his companion well. He started to caress the strands of hair that escaped from under the sheets.

Not every manipulation was a lie.


End file.
